You'll Never Walk Alone - Serving Up Murder
by Typhoon73
Summary: It's the second story with Elizabeth Rizzoli-Isles and her husband Adam Laverty as main characters! Jane and Maura have retired and are trying to support her pregnant daughter and their son-in-law in their private life just like in their lives as detectives. But then all of them are involved in a case that is personal.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey, guys. As I said, I can't stop writing about Liz and Adam. This is the sequel of You'll Never Walk Alone, and I hope you'll like it. It might start slow, but I h** **ave a idea where to go with this. I hope you'll join me.**

 **T73.**

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Liz Rizzoli-Isles is sitting at the kitchen island of her parents and is blinking a couple of times as she is looking down at the plate in front of her with indefinably food on it.

Jane is rolling her eyes now and places an hand on her hip. She isn't sure why her daughter is suddenly acting like this and sighs. "Don't be so coy. Eat."

The younger woman swallows hard and smiles wryly, pointing at the meal. "What exactly is … **this**?"

Jane's eyebrows shoot up and the older woman is pursing her lips. She has asked herself the same question as soon as she lifted the lid from the container and she is sure that her wife could name every single content in there.

She narrows her eyes and smiles innocently. "Yummy stuff that is good for your pregnancy."

Liz is nodding skeptically and tilts her head to the side. "Uh-huh, do you wanna join me for lunch?"

Jane turns to the fridge so her daughter can't see that she is gagging and opens the door of the device. "Um, I'm good, thank you." She says and smiles as she hears the scoff of the younger woman. "And I am not pregnant."

She is surprised that she is handling the fact that her only daughter is pregnant for three months now and that Maura and she are trying as good as they can.

Liz is shoving the contents with her fork from one side to the other. She wrinkles her nose and shudders. "Can't we just order a pizza?"

"God, yes." Jane sighs relieved and the two women starts to laugh heartily. She looks long at Liz, whose body still haven't changed much, and braces herself on the island. "How are you doing, Liz?"

Liz is getting her phone in her hand and wiggles her eyebrows. "Still as good as thirty minutes ago."

The older woman is rolling her eyes once again and smiles softly. "No, I mean how are you really doing? Adam has told me that you are more working more at your desk then in the field. I know that something like that always drove me crazy and then I drove others crazy."

Liz is chuckling amused and nods approvingly. "I know." She says and looks up with a smile. "Somehow, I am okay with it. I mean, it is for the good of my unborn child, but at some days I really do miss being out on the streets."

"I never hear you complaining about it."

"I swallow down my pride, and it's not like I am just sitting around now. I still go to crime scenes, Ma. The only thing I don't do anymore is chasing the bad guys, literally."

Jane is about to say something, but then she stops herself. She furls her eyebrows and tilts her head to the side. "So Adam is running after them all alone?"

"He and Leslie." Liz answers with a grin.

The older woman raises her eyebrows and smirks. "Oh."

Liz wiggles her eyebrows again and turns her head as soon as the front door opens. She smiles broadly as she looks at her husband, but then she furls her brows when he rolls his eyes. She can see that he is tired of going on errands with Maura and is glad that she has turned the idea of her Mom down. _Thank you, pregnancy_ , she thinks to herself.

"I think I am broke." He says and gives his wife a peck.

Jane snorts amused and her eyes are landing on her own wife, wo is entering the house now. "No matter how old you get, some things will never chance."

Maura sticks her tongue out and laughs with her wife.

Adam is flopping down on the chair next to Liz and makes a disgusted face as he spots the meal. "What is that?"

Liz only shakes her head and heaves a sigh when Jane takes the plate finally away. "What did you got today?"

"Gray hair," he simply answers and Maura swats his arm huffing. He chuckles and takes a deep breath. "The rest of the interior fittings for the nursery."

Liz is nodding slowly and smirks at Maura who is shrugging. "I hope you bought neutral stuff."

"I did," he answers and is thanking Jane as she hands him a can of soda.

Maura is eyeing Liz and her husband and furls her eyebrows. "You don't wanna know the gender of your child?"

The younger brunette is hesitating for a moment and shrugs. "Not now, no. You know, I am glad that the first trimester is over with any complications. I don't care if the baby is a boy or a girl."

Jane nods slowly and looks at Adam who is unusually quiet. "And what about you, Adam? Do you wanna know the gender of your child?"

Adam knows that she is asking him because she is thinking that he doesn't have the same opinion like Liz. "I don't care if we are going to have a boy or a girl, all that matters to me is that our baby is healthy."

"Okay, then." Jane says and nods once again. She ducks her head as someone is ringing the doorbell and sees how her wife is rolling her eyes. "That has to be the pizza."

"Jane." Maura groans but smiles in the same time.

"You have ordered the pizza, haven't you?" Adam whispers into Liz' ear and he can tell that he has been right with his suspicion as he sees the smirk on her lips.

Liz isn't smirking because he is right, though. She is smirking because a chill ran down her spin as soon as he has whispered in her ear. It's something that didn't happened side a couple of weeks and she places an hand on his thigh.

He is looking down at the hand and arches an eyebrow, swallowing hard.

She is playing it cool and thrusts her chin at her mothers. "So, are you staying in Boston for the weekend, or are you going to drive away?"

Jane is getting skeptically and looks briefly at her wife, who has the same expression than her. "We are staying in town for the weekend. Why are you asking?"

The young woman purses her lips and shrugs. "No real reason."

Maura presses her lips together to hide her amused smile. She knows exactly what is going on in the body of her daughter and she knows exactly why Liz is asking that question.

Jane is scrutinizing Liz and points at her warningly as she is carrying the pizza to the kitchen island. "The two of you are not going to have sex in every single room of this house."

Liz is shrugging again and opens the lid of the box. "That's fine by my, because I have been planning on having sex in every single room of our own."

Unfortunately, Adam is sipping his soda in the same time and he is spitting it all across the room.

Jane makes a face and drops her chin to her chest. "Why do you have to put that picture in my head, kid?"

Adam sees the warningly look of Maura and wipes his mouth with the back of his hand. "I … I am gonna mop that up." He stutters and gets up from his chair.

Liz is laughing amused and wiggles her brows as she holds her Ma's glare. Then she gets a slice of pizza out of the box and takes a healthy bite from it.

Jane sighs dramatically and Maura is laughing heartily.

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Adam is carrying the last bags of the shopping spree with Maura into their detached house in Chestnut Hill in which they had moved in a month ago. He knows that Maura must have pulled a few strings and he doesn't mind it a lot. He has learned that it is in vain to take issue with Maura or Liz when they set their minds on some things. He now knows what Jane has meant as she said that she is knowing how he is feeling sometimes. Liz and Maura do have a certain standard of living that they are not willed to give up, but he knew that already when he married Liz.

Liz is following him into the soon to be nursery and is leaning against the door frame while her eyes are wandering around in the area needing improvement.

Adam turns around and frowns. "I am going to start soon."

Liz is smiling broadly at him and reaches out. "We still have time, Adam."

He pulls her against his body and smirks as she starts to giggle surprised. "I know, and you are going to say it the next couple of months, but I like to get things done before our little one is born."

She is looking deep into his eyes and shakes her head. "I don't know why I deserve you."

He places his hands on her hips and pulls her even closer. "Well, you love me."

"That's all it needs?"

"I'm a simple man."

"Yes, you are." She chuckles and wraps her arms around his, but then she turns serious again.

He is holding her gaze and sways them slightly. "What?"

Liz is taking a deep breath and decides to tell him about the things she has been afraid the last few months and what she has been expecting. "I thought that you would freak out after the news about has settled down in your mind. That you-"

"That I would cheat on you like Chaz did after he got to know that he is going to be a dad?" Adam asks as his wife is trailing off. He frowns when she shrugs and shakes his head. "I am thrilled about the fact that we are going to have a baby, Elizabeth. The though of cheating on you have never crossed my mind. I can control my needs."

"That's why you needed forty minutes in the bathroom instead of twenty," Liz asks with a knowingly smile.

Adam scoffs and wiggles his brows. He knows that he doesn't need to feel embarrassed that he take sometimes a extra time in the bathroom and it isn't the first time that she broaches the subject. "That's the better option than to sleep with other women."

"Very true." Liz says and pulls his head down. "Let me take care of you tonight." She whispers and her eyes are dropping to his lips.

He takes a deep breath and clenches his teeth. "Liz -"

"Adam, I want to." She says and furrows her eyebrows.

"Not in here."

"No, in our bedroom. Let's go."

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Liz is still not used to the new surroundings and needs a couple of minutes every time she is opening her eyes. She is stretching her arms over her head and isn't surprised that she isn't finding Adam in their bed. Since they have moved in into this house he is up early and unpacks the moving boxes, but she never has heard strange voices in the house like she is doing in this moment. She is sitting up and furls her brows, she decides to get dressed in a pajama bottom and pulls a tank top over her head.

She opens the door and rolls her eyes as soon as she hears the muffled laugh of her cousin Sam and has to smile herself. She walks down the hallway and down the stairs, and the house suddenly becomes quiet.

"Did we wake you?" T.J. is asking from the living room and is holding a book in his hand.

She is smiling and shakes her head. "No. What are you guys are doing here?"

"Arranging your house." Sam answers and is waving with the wooden spoon in his hand.

Liz is looking around and is scoffing. "Well, I can see that."

"I make my special omelet for ya." Sam informs her with a smirk and she chuckles.

"Do you want us to go?" T.J. is asking nervously and frowns.

She shakes her head and takes a deep breath. "No, please stay. Have the two of you seen my husband?"

"He's in the backyard," Tommy answers and nods at the glass door. "He mumbled something about installing a swing."

Liz is nodding once and makes her way out of the glass door. She smiles broadly as she watches Adam struggling with the already mentioned swing. She wraps her arms around her middle and chuckles as he looks at her. "Do you need a helping hand?"

He frowns and shakes his hand. "No. I told the boys to keep their voice down."

"It's my time to get up, Adam. Did you ask them to come by?"

"Nope, they showed up shortly after I came back from my run."

Liz is rolling her eyes and her eyes are never leaving his as he comes up to her. "Welcome to my family."

Adam places his hands on her hips and pulls her closer. "Don't worry, I knew that you have a strong bond with your family when I married you. It's not scaring me away."

Liz opens her mouth to reply something.

"Liz, your omelet is waiting for you." Sam calls out.

"You phone is buzzing non-stop, Adam." T.J. is calling out as well.

Adam takes a deep breath and shrugs. "I guess you are going to have breakfast to go."

She is pursing her lips and nods before she starts to walk.


	2. Chapter 2

**Hey, guys. Thank you all to read the second story of Liz and Adam as main characters. I try to keep it interesting. Of course Reviews are welcome.**

 **I hope that you'll like this chapter as well.**

 **T73.**

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Frankie is turning around as soon as he feels the presence of his niece and nods once at her and Adam. He is glad that Liz isn't in all ways like his sister and that she said herself that she is still going to crime scenes and come with them when they have to talk to family members and friends, but she also said that she rather stay at the station when it comes shady persons and that she won't be a part when they have to chase their suspicious.

He has been called to a ramshackle hut in Southie and he still regret that he has entered it. "How are you feeling this morning," he asks the young woman.

Adam slows his steps and looks questioningly at Leslie, who is talking to a other patrol officer.

"Like I am feeling every morning." Liz answers a little confused and blinks against the sun.

"Sick?"

She puts on a pair of gloves with a scoff and furls her eyebrows. "Nope. Why are you asking that?"

"Because we could blame your pregnancy if you have to throw up." Frankie answers matter-of-factly.

Adam's face is neutral and he takes a deep breath. "That bad?"

"I couldn't live in this apartment." Frankie answers and Liz is groaning.

"I meant the victim."

The older man is nodding slowly and starts to walk. "Take a look yourself."

"If we have to." Liz is grumbling and her husband is smiling a little as they start to follow him.

She is watching every single step she is making because she is afraid if she is doing a wrong one, she is going to break with her foot through the wooden floor. She isn't sure if it is the smell of a corpse that is hitting her nose or if every single apartment is a dump. Either way, the smell in the building really makes her sick.

Adam can see that the brunette is turning a little more green with every step, but he knows better than to ask if she is okay right now. He learned early that it is okay to ask her that question at home, and that it is a no-go at work.

Liz takes a moment as soon as they reached the open apartment and swallows hard as she closes her eyes. She exhales slowly through her mouth and is nodding encouragingly to herself before she takes a look at the door frame. She glances at her uncle and furrows her eyebrows. "Forced entry?"

"Yap," he agrees and grit his teeth. "the door chain is busted too."

She enters the apartment and tries to not breathe in deeply. She looks around in the filthy apartment and licks disgusted her lips. "I can't see if this is the usual state of the apartment or if it is the result of a fight."

"A mix of both." Leslie says as she joins them. She looks around too and makes a face as well.

Liz is making a sound in the back of her throat and looks at Frankie. "What about the victim?"

He smiles and nods in the room that probably is the living room. "He looks as bad as the apartment."

"Great." She grumbles and starts to walk in the direction in which he has nodded.

Adam sighs heavily and glance down at Leslie. "Can you show me where the bathroom is?"

The redhead starts to smirk and leads the way. "Sure, follow me."

Liz has buried her nose in the fabric of her dress shirt and swallows down swallows down the upcoming bale while she is standing in the bedroom that looks like no one has cleaned it since month.

"Oh, my God. Did a pig live in here?" Adam's voice is to be heard and Frankie is chuckling amused.

Liz smiles a little and then she starts to understand. "Syllogomania." She mumbles to herself.

Frankie is perking his eyebrows and turns his head a little. "Excuse me?"

She looks at him and points at the room itself. "Syllogomania, also know as compulsive hoarding or hoarding disorder, is a pattern of behavior that is characterized by excessive acquisition and an inability or unwillingness to discard large quantities of objects that cover the living areas of the home and cause significant distress or impairment. Compulsive hoarding behavior has been associated with health risks, impaired functioning, economic burden, and adverse effects on friends and family members."

He nods slowly and glances at the door. "Yeah, his neighbors also said that Robert Morgan was a loner. No one ever entered his apartment. The state of his condo could explain it." He says and Liz is nodding slowly.

"That's fine and dandy, but Syllogomania didn't kill Mr. Morgan." a lean man with dark hair and light brown eyes says as he straightens up and takes a deep breath. His name is Steven Soltini and he is Maura's replacement. He is good in his job, but he isn't a Maura Isles. He still has to learn a lot.

Liz is pursing her lips and frowns deeply. "And what killed him, Doc?"

Soltini wiggles his eyebrows and sighs. "I don't want to tie myself down, but it looks like Mr. Morgan has been beaten to death."

"With his pillow," Liz asks skeptically and furrows her eyebrows.

Frankie grunts amused and drops his chin to his chest.

Soltini rolls his eyes and smiles at the cheeky brunette.

Liz is smirking broadly and turns her head as she hears a grumble behind them. She looks into the disguised face who holds a couple of medicine bottles in his gloved hands. "I think that his name isn't Deborah Flemington or Margaret Washington."

Frankie and Liz are groaning at the same and they are looking at the dead man.

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Liz is sitting at her desk and is working at her computer to check the background of their victim and wants to run her hands through her hair, but she stops herself because they are as always neatly pinned-up. In that she isn't like her Ma who don't care about it at all. It is still a bad habit she got from her time as a patrol officer.

Adam is placing a cup of tea in front of her and smiles a little as she silently is thanking him. "Found anything?"

She leans back in her chair and takes a swig from the tea. "I found a lot. Robert Morgan has been arrested several times for inebriety and his GP's prescription pads kept disappearing in the time Morgan has been in his treatment."

"Did he wrote false prescriptions for his friends aka clients?"

"I already informed the pharmacies about the prescriptions and that they should give us a call when one of Dr. Carl Dalton is showing up." She says and frowns. "Dr. Dalton is coming in tomorrow in the morning. I hope that I can get a sample of his signature, so we can compare it with whatever is coming in. Did you talked to Morgan's neighbors once more?"

Adam snorts and flops down on his chair. "It was like talking to a wall. They only said that Morgan moved in a couple of years ago and that they met him every now and then in the hallway. Seems like he was a real lone wolf. What about his family?"

"Nothing," Liz sighs and leans back with a shrug. "It feels like I can't get a hold of this guy. I mean, you can't survive without any social contacts."

"Well, you can order anything online today." Adam states and is the one who is frowning now. "That makes a lot of things easier."

"Or it complicates everything." She replies lost in thoughts and is scratching her left forearm. Since they are back from the crime scene, she feels the urge to take a extensively shower and to burn her clothes.

"You okay?" Adam asks with a knowingly smile.

Liz makes a disgusted face and chuckles with her husband.

Frankie enters the bullpen as well and holds up an folder. "It is official now. Cause of death is blunt force trauma to Robert Morgan's head. Soltini also found multiple defensive wounds, looks like Morgan didn't go down without a good fight."

Liz is nodding slowly and is glancing long at him. "Could he tell what the murder weapon has been?"

Frankie is snorting amused and walks to the coffeemaker. "Soltini has to be Maura's clone."

Adam is smirking and drops his chin to his chest.

"So no," she snickers and rolls her eyes.

The older man smiles broadly and pours himself a cup of coffee. "What did the two of you found out?"

"Not much." Adam answers and presses his lips to a thin line together. "Everything we are looking at is ending up in a dead end."

"The only good lead I have found is Dr. Dalton's, Robert's GP, missing prescription pads." Liz says and is about to get up from her chair.

"Where are you going?" Frankie asks with furled eyebrows.

"I am …. going and get a expert opinion." Liz answers and is fluttering her eyelashes at her husband. "Is it okay for you to catch a cab later?"

"Do I have a other choice," he asks back and arches an eyebrow.

Liz is grinning and is out of the bullpen in no time.

Adam rolls his eyes and runs an hand over his beard.

Frankie snickers and nods once at the young man. "I can give you a ride home."

Adam is nodding approvingly and takes a deep breath. "Thanks."

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Maura is sitting on the couch as the front door is opening and she is surprised that her wife is coming home so early. Jane has told her that she is going to spend the evening with her youngest brother and that it could get late.

Maura is turning her head and can't hide her surprised that she is looking at her daughter who seems to come straight from work. "Hi."

Liz is glancing in the direction from where the voice is coming and smiles a little. "Hey."

"Are you coming from the station," Maura asks and frowns a little.

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I am coming from work."

"Is everything alright?"

Liz is nodding and makes her way to the couch. "Yes, everything is perfectly fine. I have to ask you for a favor, Mom."

Maura is all ears now and puts the magazine in her hand aside. "What do you need, Liz?"

The younger woman is sitting down on the other end of the couch and hesitates for a second, crossing her legs. "Are you still in touch with the handwriting expert?"

Maura isn't quite sure what this is about and nods slowly. "Yes, I am still in touch with Harold. Why are you asking?"

Liz is smiling sheepishly and passes her mother a file. "Could you please ask Harold to compare the two signatures with each other? It is very important for our recent case."

Maura's face is becoming a professional mask and she looks skeptically at her daughter. "Does Frankie know about all of this?"

"He knows about the case."

"And that you are consulting me?"

Liz ducks her head and her sheepish smile returns. "No. Well, he knows that I am going to consult an expert, but I didn't mention your name. Look, this is very important for this case and probably our only useful hint. I would be really grateful if you are doing me this favor."

Maura releases slowly her breath through her mouth and places the file on the coffee table. "BPD does have very good handwriting experts too."

Liz is skidding closer and frowns. "Yes, I know that, but they are not as good as those you know."

Maura licks her lips and sighs heavily. "Okay, I will give him a call tomorrow in the morning."

Liz is smiling like a Cheshire cat and feels relieved. "Thank you, Mom. I owe you one."

"Mm-hm." Maura replies with a half smile. "Do you wanna have a tea?"

The younger woman takes a look at her watch and frowns. "Normally I would say yes, but I am really tired and I want to get out of these clothes."

"You smell like you've spent the entire day on a dumping ground." Maura replies and turns up her nose.

Liz rolls her eyes and gets up from the couch. "Yeah, something like that. Our victim was a hoarder."

Maura makes a sympathetic face now. "Oh." She says and walks her daughter to the front door.

The younger woman smiles and opens the door again. "Thank you for doing this for me."

Maura hugs her tightly and smiles proudly. "You are welcome."

"And tell Ma I said hi."

"Of course." Maura replies and watches her daughter heading to Adam's dark red Camaro. "Drive safely, honey."

Liz opens the driver's door and raises an hand. "I will. Night, Mom."

"Good night." Maura says before she closes the door and locks it. She takes a deep breath and wiggles her eyebrows as she is making her way back to the couch. Of course she is going to help her daughter in any way she can, even though Jane probably wont approve it.

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Liz is standing behind the kitchen counter and arches an brow as soon as she feels the presence right behind her. She sighs with a smile as he tucks her hair to the side and starts to trail kisses along her neck. "What do you think you are doing?"

"I don't know," he mumbles against her skin and smirks. "Making up for three months."

She is smirking herself and tilts her head to the side to grant him more access. "Maybe I am not in the mood for that."

Adam has to swallow a desperate groan and stops his action. "Then I am going to accept that."

Liz turning to him and looks guiltily at him. "Adam, I am sorry."

He furls his eyebrows and shrugs. "For what? For being pregnant? I am not sorry about that."

Liz is taking a deep breath and takes his hand in her own. "I love you. You know that, right?"

"Yes, I know. And I love you too." He says with nothing but sincerity in his voice.

"I just want to eat dinner, go to bed and sleep."

He shakes his head and takes her head between his hands, looking deeply into brown eyes. "You don't have to justify yourself, Elizabeth. I can understand it. Come on, let's sit down, have dinner and watch some TV before we go to bed."

Liz smiles weakly and takes both plates with Chinese take-out in her hands.

"You know that Frankie is going to kill you, right?" Adam asks as he gets them two bottles of water out of the fridge.

The brunette turns sits down on the couch and turns on the TV. "What are you talking about?"

"About the fact that you talked with Maura about the case." He answers and hands his wife one of the bottles.

Liz is holding his gaze and shrugs. "I didn't talk about the case at all. I only asked her if she could consult her friend Harold, who happens to be a handwriting expert."

Adam scoffs and shoves a fork full of food into his mouth. "Still," he mumbles with a smile.

She rolls her eyes and chews on the food in her mouth. "He will be glad that I seek Mom's advice if it is helping us in the case."

Adam smiles and wiggles his brows. That's why he felt in love with the brunette, her exceptionally way of thinking. "Do you have a hunch?"

Liz nods slowly and smiles.

"Do you wanna tell me?"

"Nope," she simply answer and he chuckles and continues his dinner with a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Liz is slowly but surely coming back from her sleep and frowns slightly as soon as she feels a hand on her bare stomach. She can imagine what is waiting for her when she opens her eyes and a slight smile is playing around her lips. She takes a deep breath and places an hand over Adam's. "It's a little weird to wake up that way."

"What?" Adam mumbles sleepily and sighs.

She finally opens her eyes and turns her head to see that his hand probably has sneaked underneath her shirt in the time he still has been asleep as well. She smiles again and is stretching her arms over her head. "Nothing." She says and runs her fingers through his hair.

Adam is sighing once more and notices that his hand has sneaked without permission under Liz' shirt, but he doesn't move it a bit. "What time is it?"

Liz can feel it too. She can feel that it is not the time both of them usually are waking up. She takes a look at her alarm clock and groans. "Damn."

"What is it?" He asks and blinks a couple of times.

"It's 3.45."

"God. Is there a particular reason that woke you up?"

"No." Liz whines and turns on her left side to face him. "I thought it would be time to get up, that's all."

Adam buries his face in his pillow and groans loudly.

She chuckles and rubs his back. "I am sorry for waking you."

He glances up and frowns a little. "I thought that I still would have a couple of months before that happens frequently."

"Frequently," Liz huffs and swats his back now. "It is the first time that this happened."

Adam isn't flinching this time. Somehow, he got used to it and he sighs loudly. "Ow."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She chuckles and tilts her head to the side. "Don't be a girl."

He laughs into the pillow and shrugs. "One of us has to be the girl in this marriage."

She huffs again and frowns. "What does that suppose to mean?"

He starts to shake his head and peeks with one eye at Liz. "You know what it suppose to mean. Can we go back to sleep for the next two hours now?"

Liz is nodding and places her head on Adam's chest as soon as he turns onto his back. "Yes, maybe even three hours."

He scoffs and closes his eyes again, pulling her even closer.

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Liz is sitting at her desk and is chewing on a baby carrot as her friend is entering the bullpen with a file in her hand. "Hey, where are Frankie and Adam?"

Liz is looking over her shoulder and frowns a little. "They get themselves a sandwich or a burger. Something like that."

"And you are sitting here and chew on cucumber and baby carrots?" Leslie asks and furrows amused her brows. She knows exactly why the brunette hasn't joined the two men for lunch.

Liz is eyeing the veggie in her hand and shrugs. "Since I can't workout anymore the way I am used to, I have to be careful with what I am eating."

"It can be frustrating, I know." Leslie replies with a smile and places the file on the brunette's desk.

Liz is nodding slowly and furls her eyebrows. "And what is this?"

"Maura came by and left that for you at the front desk. She said you would wait for that." Leslie informs her and crosses her arms over her chest.

Liz is wiping her hands with a paper napkin and opens the file. "Why didn't she come up herself?"

"Jane was that waiting in the car." The redhead states.

The brunette scoffs and opens the file now. "That explains a lot." She mumbles and is reading the report of Harold, Maura's handwriting expert. She furls her eyebrows and looks at the tried and true glass board. "He has to explain that." She mumbles and gets up from her chair.

Leslie is turning to her friend and frowns. "What do you mean?"

"The signature on Dr. Dalton's stolen prescription pads aren't falsified. He signed them himself." Liz mumbles more to herself and starts to write a text message to Frankie.

"You think that Dr. Carl Dalton is involved in Robert Morgan's murder?" Leslie asks and is following her friend hot on her heels.

Liz is punching the button of the elevator with her thumb and looks up at the display. "That's what we are going to figure out."

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Frankie is sitting in a interrogation room and turn the file on the table to the man with pale complexion, graying golden-blond hair, and dark brown eyes. He is of average height, somewhat thin, and is wearing a expensive looking suit. "Please explain that, Dr. Dalton."

The doctor is looking down at the report and licks his try lips. "Well, that is my signature, obviously."

Liz is smiling sweetly and arches an eyebrow. "Obviously your signature is on those prescriptions that you have reported as stolen. How did they got stolen again. I would like to hear your story so I can understand it."

Dalton starts to wring his hands and has to swallow hard. "I have been treating my patient Robert Morgan and had to leave him alone for … maybe five minutes. I don't know, maybe I left him alone for a little bit longer. And after Robert has left I noticed that two of my prescription pads have been missing. Only he could take them because before he was there for his treatment I still had them."

She is nodding slowly and is piercing him with her gaze. "What has been Mr. Morgan's afflictions?"

"His a … afflictions?" Dalton is stammering and swallows hard once again.

Liz' face is unreadable and she nods once. "Yes."

"He suffered from ulcus ventriculi." The doctor answers and takes a deep breath.

Frankie's eyebrows are shooting up high.

She is staring at the doctor and starts to chuckle amused, looking at her uncle. "Stomach ulcer."

Frankie is nodding once and scratches the back of his neck. "Funny, our Dr. Soltini, our Medical Examiner, couldn't find any signs of a stomach ulcer. Hypothetically, Robert Morgan has been in a perfect health condition, beside the fact that he has been beaten to death."

The young woman turns serious again and tilts her head to the side. "What makes me wondering why Robert Morgan has been in your medical office every single week."

"I have to treat the afflictions of my patients."

"You don't take a closer look at them and their medical history?"

Frankie gives the other man the chance to answer the question and furls his eyebrows as Dalton doesn't do so. "You found out that selling medications on the black market is a profit-making business, didn't you?"

Dalton starts to shift nervously on his seat and wrings his hands.

Liz can see that they are close to get all the answers and leans forward, frowning. "Robert didn't steal the prescription pads. You gave them to him to sell them, didn't you?"

Dalton is holding her gaze and then he buries his face in his hands. "Yes. Yes, I gave them to Robert, that's why he was weekly in my office."

Liz is leaning back in her chair and a proud smile is flashing over her lips.

Frankie takes a deep breath and opens his notepad. "Why did you kill him? Did Robert want to fink out?"

"I did not kill anyone." Dalton says louder and straightens up again. "None of this has been my idea."

"Whose idea has it been?"

The doctor licks his lips and shakes his head. "It was the idea of my ex-wife's brother, his name is Neal. One evening, he showed up at my house and said that he would have a great business plan. In the beginning, I was horrified as he told me about it all and I turned him down."

"What changed your mind," Liz is asking with a soft voice and furrows her eyebrows.

Dalton is looking long at her and is wiping the sweat off his forehead with his hand. "My ex-wife wanted to have more alimonies. I mean, I have to live from something too. I work my ass off every single day in the week, but it's not enough. It never has been enough, that's why she left me. I -" He trails off and shakes his head.

"Robert worked for Neal," Frankie asks and looks up for a second.

Dalton nods slowly and takes a deep breath. "Yeah."

"Did you know that Neal is going to kill Robert?"

"No. No, I didn't know that. But Neal always has been a loose cannon. Robert told me that he is quitting to sell those prescriptions because Neal wanted to have more money, more of everything. I told Robert to think twice about it, but he didn't want to listen to me."

"Why didn't you inform the police?" Liz is whispering as she leans forward again.

"And implicate myself?" He asks back and furls his eyebrows.

She huffs and nods at Leslie to give her the sign to arrest Dr. Carl Dalton. "At least you'd have saved a man's life. You are not the slightest bit better then your ex-wife's brother." She says as she closes the file and gets up to her feet, and Frankie is following her immediately.

Adam is waiting in the observation room and already has a file in his hand that holds the information about Neal Lewis. He hands it to Frankie and frowns. "Take a look at this."

Frankie is doing as Adam said and his eyes are finding his niece's. "You are not coming with us."

Liz is stopping abruptly and frowns deeply. She already has seen this kind of gaze and nods slowly. "Yeah, okay." She grabs Adam's hand as he is about to pass her and her frown deepens even more. "Adam, be careful."

He looks long at her and nods with a smile. "You can bet."

She rolls her eyes and chuckles.

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Leslie is flopping down in the sand next to her best friend and smiles as she watches her husband and Adam chasing her giggling son all over the beach. She takes a deep breath and smiles. "I can see that you would like to be with them right now. That you would like to chase Damian as well."

Liz takes a deep breath and places an hand on her belly. "I am going to have a lot of chances to do so in a while."

The redhead smiles and hands Liz a water. She is about to reply something and shrugs.

"Look at who I have found." Sam exclaims delighted and glares at the woman who is giving him a shove.

Liz is looking over her shoulder and can't help the broad smile on her lips as soon as she spots Frost's daughter Danielle. She is up to her feet in no time and has the other woman in a tight hug in the blink of an eye. "Hey, what are you doing here?"

Danielle chuckles amused and shrugs. "Hello to you too. Sam heard that I would be in Boston and invited me."

Liz is eyeing her and furrows her brows. "Why didn't you tell me that you are coming to Boston?"

"I would have after I settled in my apartment." Danielle says and wiggles her brows.

Liz' face wants blank and she rolls her eyes at herself. "Where the hell are my manners?" She states and looks at Leslie. "Leslie, let me introduce you to Barry Frost's daughter Danielle."

Leslie is milking broadly and shakes the other woman's hand. "It's nice to finally meet you. I heard a lot about you and your parents."

"Likewise." Danielle says with a pleased smile.

Leslie is arching an brow. "Really?"

Liz is rolling her eyes again and raises an shoulder. "I do talk about my best friend who is supporting me in any situation."

Leslie is blushing a little and takes a deep breath. Now she knows for sure that no one's gonna challenge her for calling herself Elizabeth Rizzoli-Isles' best friend.

Danielle is chuckling and thrusts her chin at Chaz and Damian. "And who are those two cuties?"

"The big one is my husband Chaz and the little one is my son Damian." Leslie answers with a broad smile.

Liz furls her eyebrows and is looking our for her own husband without any luck.

Danielle is glancing at Liz and frowns. "I guess none of your cousins are your own husband."

Liz wants to reply something and her eyes went huge and she opens her mouth widely as soon as she feels a cold body is pressing against hers.

Adam smirks and let his lips trail over her exposed shoulder.

Liz chuckles and points at him with her thumb and a smile. "That idiot is my husband."

"Really?" Danielle is laughing. "He's a cutie too."

Adam is freezing as he hears the strange voice and looks up at Danielle. He reaches out and smiles sweetly. "Hi. Adam Laverty."

"Danielle Frost." She laughs and shakes his hand. "Nice to finally meet you."

Adam still smiles. "Ditto."

Liz runs her hands over his arms which are wrapped around her middle and frowns. "So, what brings you to Boston, Dani?"

"Work," the other woman answers matter-of-factly.

Leslie furls her eyebrows and sips her iced tea. "You are a cop too?"

Liz suddenly has a bad feeling and looks long at her old friend. "Actually, Danielle studied law. You left San Francisco for Boston to work for our DA's office?"

Danielle is turning serious and licks her lips. "To be honest, Chesterfield's office lure me away from the DA's office."

Adam and Leslie are becoming unusually quiet and they look at each other.

Liz is lowering the bottle of water and blinks a couple of times. The law firm of Chesterfield is known for appearing for down-and-dirty clients. "You have to be kidding me."

Adam can feel that his wife's body is tensing up and he knows that she wants to run once again, that's why he is tightening his hold a little. "Liz," he whispers against her head.

"What happened, Dania?" Liz croaks with a frown. "I mean, we always wanted to be on the good guys side."

"I learned one thing, Liz. Just because you committed crime it doesn't mean there is no reason for doing so."

"But Chesterfield."

"I need to pay my bills."

Liz is glancing up at the sky and shakes her head. A heartbreaking sob escapes from her throat.

Danielle frowns deeply. "That doesn't mean that we can't be friends anymore."

Liz is looking at her and then she wriggles out of her husband's hold, and is disappearing in no time.

Danielle is closing her eyes a sighs loudly.

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Adam is coming home after Chaz and Leslie has dropped him off. He hasn't been surprised that Liz has been running away after her oldest friend told her that she is working for Chesterfield, and that she has drove off with his car. "I swear to God, I am a bad person because I am hopping that some -" He trails off as soon as he sees a glass of wine that is standing in front of Liz.

She is sitting on the couch and stares at the glass. "I have not been drinking it."

He takes a deep breath and flops down next to her. "But you are thinking about it."

She is silent for a moment and shoves the glass away from her. He is right and she is hating herself for thinking about drinking alcohol. No one of them is to blame that the friend of her youth is choosing such a way of life, especially not her own unborn child. She buries her face in her hands and sighs heavily. "Yes, I thought about it, but I have the opinion that Dani's decision is not enough reason to ruin our child's life."

Adam nods slowly and gets the glass in his hand. "I am going to drink it for you."

Liz scoffs and furrows her eyebrows. "How thoughtful of you."

Adam smiles and takes a sip of the wine. "I that case, I love to sacrifice myself for you."

She rolls her eyes and leans back. "It's not like you are taking a bullet for me." She says and he arches an eyebrow. "Okay, you are taking a bullet for the baby."

"Danielle is a nice woman." He chances the topic and nods once. "She is just like you always described her."

"With the difference that she is going for the bad guys now," she replies and sighs loudly.

"Just because she took a job as a defender -"

"At Chesterfield's." She throws in.

He doesn't care about her objection. "It doesn't have to mean that Danielle is a bad person in private life. You have to give her a chance."

She is silent for a moment and shakes her head. "Adam, even if I give her that chance I don't know what to talk about when we meet somewhere else."

"How about how life has been treating the two of you in the time you didn't see each other." Adam suggests with a shrugs and takes a swig of the wine.

She is looking long at him and furls her eyebrows a little. "You really have to force yourself to drink that wine, huh?"

He shrugs and looks down at the glass. "Well, yes. Especially when you are not a regular wine drinker."

"Yeah, sure." She chuckles and gives him a kiss. She stays in that position and her smile is dying on her lips as she looks down at his own.

Adam also can feel that the atmosphere in the room has changed and places the glass on the end table. He bends his head again and closes the gap of their lips again. This time the kiss isn't so innocent anymore.

Liz exhales shakily through her nose and starts to pull his shirt over his head after she straddled his lap.

Adam doesn't mind it in the first moment, but then she holds her at her wrists. "You sure?"

She nods slowly with a smile and bends her head once again.


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey, guys. Thank you all for your support and reading, following and reviewing. It really means a lot to me.**

 **I hope that you are going to like this chapter as well.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **T73.**

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Jane is sitting in the living room of her daughter and looks long at her wife. She has listened for almost an hour how Liz complained about the fact that Danielle has token a job in the Chesterfield law firm without saying a single word.

Adam has decided to disappear upstairs in the nursery and to take care of the furniture in it as soon as his wife has started to inform her parents about the big change in her friend's life.

"Have you known about it," Liz asks and is glaring at her mothers.

The Italian is wiggling with her brows and smiles sheepishly.

Maura rolls her eyes and is looking for the right answer. They indeed have know about the drastic change in Danielle's life and Jane had to talk her old friend Frost down as he told them about it in a video call, and after that Maura had to talk her wife down. "We didn't know about it, yes."

"And why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know that we have to tell you everything that we have been talking with **out** old friend and colleague." Jane says dangerously calm.

Maura is looking at the older Rizzoli and can tell that Jane is about to explode as well. "Both of you have to calm down." She tries to ease the tension. They came by at her daughter's place to see if she and Adam still need a helping hand and not to fight.

"You always said that none of us is keeping anything from anyone." Liz retorts and is holding her Ma's gaze. "And now you are telling me that you knew about stuff like that."

"Frost is mine and your Mom's friend, Elizabeth." Jane says harshly and is getting up from the couch. "We don't have to tell you everything that we have been talking about with him or his wife, all right. You stayed in touch with Dani yourself, so ask yourself why she hasn't told you about her new career. Maybe Danielle wanted to avoid that you react like a five-year old. It is Danielle's decision and you have to accept it, even though you don't like it. Not everything is about you, kid."

Liz is huffing and crosses truculently her arms over her chest.

Maura closes slowly her eyes and starts to massage her temples.

Jane arches an eyebrow and grit her teeth. "Maybe you should go and ask Dani what changed her mind and why she became a defender, before you yell on top of your lungs that you can't be friends with her anymore. Just a motherly advice, I won't charge you for that."

The younger woman is laughing cynically about that and Jane is smiling the same way at her. Liz knows that she probably made a hasty judgment and that she needs to collect all the information, but somehow her brain doesn't allow that. She takes a deep breath and gets her phone out of the pocket of her jeans.

Jane growls low and starts to shake her head. "And now you rather prefer to play with your phone instead of looking at us?"

Liz is rolling her eyes and is looking with big ones at her mother.

Jane groans and is raising her hands, and wants to wrap them around her daughter's neck.

Maura chuckles and crosses her legs. "Liz, do you need any help with the house?"

The younger woman is starting to type a message and looks with furrowed brows. "Um, no. The only room we still have to set up is the nursery. T.J. and Sam have been very helpful."

"Yeah, they told me that they have been spending a lot of time in here." Jane says and walks to the fridge. She takes a can of Dr. Pepper out of it and makes a face. "You are still addicted to that stuff?"

The younger woman wiggles her eyebrows with a shrug. "Blame Tommy for that."

Maura laughs and Jane groans heartily.

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Liz is placing a glass of wine in front of her old friend and takes place at the other side of the garden table.

Danielle smiles broadly and licks her lips. "I am a little bit jealous right now."

Liz is smiling as well and looks down at her tea cup. "Why are you saying that?"

The other woman is shrugging and enjoys the cool air. "The last time I've been visiting you in Boston you still lived at your mother's house and had this liaison with Walter I guess. And now you are married and have this house."

Liz is tensing up at the name and takes a deep breath. "It has been a while, yes. And his name was William. William Hanley."

"What happened with him?"

"It's … complicated."

Danielle smirks and turns her attention to her friend. "I love complicated stories."

Liz is hesitating and wiggles her brows. "William and I tried to make the thing we had serious, but is was a disaster. Well, it turned out to be a disaster. We fought a lot in front of the whole precinct and after a couple of months he broke up with me."

The other woman is nodding slowly and frowns deeply. "I am still waiting for the complicated part."

Liz is pressing her lips together before she takes a swig from her tea. "Well, it took a couple of months before I was over him."

"So, you liked him."

"I thought so, yes."

"You thought so?"

Liz is taking a moment and takes a deep breath. "He was manipulating me."

Danielle is rising her eyebrows high. "Oh. And when did you met Adam?"

Liz scoffs amused and runs an hand through her hair. "Three months after Will ended our _relationship_. Leslie and I had been out in our favorite bar and had a couple of drinks as he sat down at our table. I thought that he would be same type of idiot who was just looking for a hook up and that he would be interested in Leslie. But over time we made a connection and talked a lot that evening. Adam walked me to my car and I told him that I am not going home that night immediately."

"And he didn't try to make a move on you," Danielle asks and is blinking a couple of times.

Liz takes a deep breath and leans back in her chair. "No, he was a gentleman. He said that he has been forced by his friends to see if he can hook up with Leslie or me, but that he had no intention to do so, and that he would be honored when I would go on a real date with him. I was flashed and said yes."

Danielle chuckles and is sipping her wine. "Sounds sweet."

"Yeah, that's not the whole story."

"Oh God."

Liz is nodding slowly and looks long at the other woman. "Adam and I went out for a couple of times before we took the next step. To be fair, I knew that Adam is going to work for Ma at the precinct. However, one day after we had been together, Will showed up at my door."

Danielle's eyes grow huge now. "I think I can see where things are getting complicated. Will told you that he still loved you?"

Liz is pressing her lips together and sighs loudly. "Yeah, something like that. Will had been transferred to Seattle PD before I met Adam, but when he showed up he forgot to mention that he got kicked out. And after he saw Adam at my place a series of cop killings started and they and Ma's team started to investigate it, same as usual. One day, I was standing with Leslie and a other friend in the entrance hall as Ma, Frankie and Adam brought William in, cuffed and the whole stuff." She is pausing and sniffles. "It turned out that he was planning on killing me the night before, but I stayed at Adam's place. Will told me in the face that I am the reason why he has been killing all those cops, because I turned him down. And because I was the reason why he got transferred. I don't let it get it to me because I know that he is mentally unstable and that I am not the reason for his actions, but somehow it stays in the back of the head."

"And Adam isn't a lunatic?"

"I wouldn't have married him if he would be." Liz answers and chuckles with her friend. "Adam always has been great. He is really patient with me, Dani. No matter how hard I tried to push him away, he remained calm. I think in the time we are together now we fought only a handful of times. I, for myself, would have given up on me up on me after the first time I broke up with him."

Danielle is refilling her glass with wine and furls her eyebrows. "How many times have you broken up with Adam?"

Liz is rolling her mug in between her hands and frowns. "Two times. One time for over half an year. I have been gone totally crazy in that time, every single weekend I go home with a different man and Adam had to watch it every single time. And the second time for two weeks, but I didn't do **that** again."

"And why did you break up with Adam for the first time," Danielle is asking and looks long at her friend.

The Rizzoli woman is glancing up at the starlit sky and shakes her head. "Ma, Frankie, Adam and a friend named Mark Callahan got into a shootout in North End and Mark got killed, two shots to the head. Adam got shot too, two shots to the chest and one through the abdomen. Adam has been in coma and I got scared, I closed myself up because I felt for the very first time how it would be when you lose someone you … love and who isn't your mother. It done something to me I couldn't understand at that time, something was about to die with Adam." She wipes the tear off her cheek that is always escaping without permission when she is thinking back at that time. "A part of me was dying with him when it looked like Adam wouldn't going to wake up again. I needed to feel alive again, that's why I went home with so many men, but it didn't worked out for me. Just when I was with Adam again, that when I felt alive again."

Danielle takes a deep breath and frowns. "I didn't mean to bring up bad memories."

Liz shakes her head and takes a deep breath too, but with a smile. "You didn't, Dani. Those memories are coming up every night when Adam and I go to bed."

The other woman wiggles her brows and nods.

"Do you wanna tell me why you have changed the side of the table?" Liz asks and has no judgment in her voice. She truly wants to know the reason why her old friend has made such a severe decision.

Danielle let her eyes roam over the yard and licks her lips. "As you know I have been working for the DA's office since I got my attorney's certificate, and I did love it. It was like a dream, a nightmare. I have been overworked and underpaid, but I still loved it."

"Sounds like my job description."

Danielle chuckles and nods slowly. "You know how it is, Liz."

"But that can't be the real reason."

"It wasn't. All of a sudden, my boss wanted to charge a man with the name Jeffrey Perkins for a triple homicide. All evidence pointed at him and a handful of witnesses said that they have seen Jeffrey at the crime scenes, but I knew for one hundred percent that he didn't commit any of those murders. They have been bestial."

Liz is emptying her cup of tea now and frowns. "What made you think like that, Dani?"

Danielle presses her lips together and furrows her brows. "Jeff and I had been friends since high school. He has always been the quiet kind of guy, and he always has been polite and always lend a helping hand, I couldn't believe that the Jeffrey Perkins I knew would kill three people because of base motives. So, I started to do my jobs and made inquiries for my office, but everyone told me that Jeff wouldn't have been able to commit the murders, and that he has been at the other side of the town when the victims got killed. I'd adjured my boss to give me more time, but he seemed to be more focused on closing the case than to catch the one who really committed the murders. Well, maybe because everything started to point at the brother-in-law of the chief prosecutor. Jeffrey Perkins simply has been the perfect pawn. Blue-collar, unsuccessful lawyer who is robbing innocent women to get through life, and killed them in a drugged state, but Jeff never took any kind of drugs. He even didn't drank coffee or alcohol, Liz. I begged the DA's office on my knees to drop the charges, but they didn't want to listen. So I was seeking help at other offices and Chesterfield has been willed to help me." She says and takes a deep breath. "Liz, I swear to God, this firm is just a opportunity before I can put my own shingle up. I never have been representing murderers, rapists or such scum, and most of the time I am working non-profit."

"Most of the time," the other woman mumbles. "I have to say that your motives sound noble. They do sound really good, Dani."

"That's the cop who is speaking." Danielle is retorting and frowns. "I know that you are hating what I am doing, but don't you think that all the Jeff Perkins' out there also have the right to have a lawyer who is stepping in for them. Do you know how many innocent men and women are in jail just because they have been at the wrong place in the wrong time?"

Liz is looking long at her friend and furls her eyebrows. "Do you know how many criminals are pretending that they would never commit those crimes they already have been charged for and then someone like you are going to represent them, and believe 'em in good faith. And ten months later, they are arrested for killing a ten-year old in a drive-by shooting."

"The world isn't just black and white, Liz." Danielle replies and perks her eyebrows up high. "I knew that I would join issue with you when I tell you about it."

"I just don't get it." Liz says with a sigh and shakes her head.

"Well, you have been top of the class and you joined the law enforcement, that's what I never got, but I also never questioned your decision." Danielle states and holds Liz gaze with a shrug.

Liz is about to reply something when she hears familiar footsteps coming up and she looks over her shoulder at her husband. "Hey, you are back."

Adam nods and kisses the top of her head. "Yeah, I think I set up everything. Do you wanna take a look?"

Liz is closing her eyes for a second and fakes a smile. "You smell like a steel worker."

Danielle starts to chuckle and shakes her head.

He rolls his eyes and wipes his hands on his jeans. "That happens when you are working really hard."

Liz smiles broadly and takes the hand of her husband in her own. "Adam has been setting up the nursery while we have been down here and talked."

Danielle let the words sink in and furrows her brows. "Nursery … Are you going to be -" Her eyes went huge now. "Oh, my God, that's why I haven't seen you drinking any alcohol yet. You are pregnant!"

Liz is smiling broadly and nods. "I just entered the second trimester."

Danielle is blinking a couple of times. "Are you serious?"

"She is." Adam says and nods vehemently.

The young woman rounds the table in no time and hugs Liz tightly. "Oh, my. Why didn't you tell me about that, Liz."

"I was coming to that at some point." Liz croaks and squints up at the night heaven. "We do need to breath, Dani."

The other woman breaks the hug and smiles like an idiot. "Congratulations to you both." She looks at Adam and wiggles her brows. "Do you know that Liz has been a bad girl?"

Liz groans and buries her face in her hands.

Adam smirks and sits down on the chair next to his wife. "Liz hasn't been an innocent when we met for the first time."

Liz huffs and swats his thigh. "I acted nicely."

He chuckles and runs an hand over her back.

"Adam, can I ask you something?" Danielle asks all of a sudden.

"I am not a sperm donor," he says and Liz sputters.

"That wouldn't have been my question, but good to know. I was about to ask you if you have any brothers."

Liz starts to laugh heartily and the other woman joins her.

Adam smirks broadly and places an hand in Liz' neck. "I am afraid no. I am an only child."

Danielle drops her hand to the table and chuckles amused. "Damn it. All good man are taken or gay."

Liz is chuckling and is patting his cheek. "I am glad that he is unique."

"You are only saying it because he is yours."

Liz smirks and lifts an shoulder.

"You girls know that I can hear you." Adam states with a deep frown.

His wife is patting his cheek with a smirk. "We know that, honey."

His frown deepens and the two women starts to laugh again as soon as they see his confused expression.


	5. Chapter 5

Liz is sitting in the crime lab and is about to putting a shattered skull together as Soltini is entering it and furls his eyebrows. He is used to the fact that the detective is spending time down in his department every now and then, but he has never seen her seriously working in here. He clears his throat and puts an pair of gloves on. "You know that it is dangerous for you to spend time around all those chemicals in your state, Detective."

She is smiling and raises an brow as she places the next piece right. "I literally spend my whole life in here and I didn't turn out so bad."

The corners of his mouth are twitching like he is about to smile. It would be the first time that anyone is seeing him smiling. He already has seen too much in his life and somehow he has unlearned that little gesture. "I have seen detectives who haven't been as smart as you."

Liz is looking up and a smirk is spreading over her lips. It has been the first time that he has said something nice to her and it is surprising her a little, but she doesn't show it. "Thank you, I think."

Soltini is having a straight face again and takes a pair of gloves from the box. "Don't you have anything to do upstairs?"

"I have a lot to do upstairs but I prefer to occupy my mind with putting this skull together, for you."

He sighs loudly and puts the gloves on.

The young woman straightens up and furls her eyebrows. "Is there anything you wanna tell me with that sigh?"

"There is a reason why I am coming in so early, Detective Rizzoli." He answers and is holding her gaze. "I prefer to work alone."

"Well, I prefer to be in a exotic country," she replies recalcitrant and arches an eyebrow. And she can see that the doctor is struggling to keep an straight face. "You know, it doesn't hurt to smile every now and then and people could see that you are feeling human emotions."

Soltini is huffing and starts his own task at hand.

Liz is rounding the counter and is leaning with her hip against it. "Why are you shutting every one out, Doc? Especially me."

He doesn't look at her and grits his teeth. "We are working together, Detective, we don't have to be friends."

She heaves a sigh and crosses her arms over her chest. "I have never met an resentful person like you are."

He wiggles his eyebrows and still isn't looking at the young woman. "There is always a first time for everything."

Liz is about to reply something as her phone starts to buzz. She chuckles and starts to walk, placing an hand on his arm. "You are saved by a phone."

"Well, lucky me." He replies and lets his head hang so he can hide the small smile.

Liz doesn't need to see it, she knows that it is there but she doesn't say a word about it.

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Jane is spotting her daughter sitting on the bench in the park and that she is reading one of her books. She takes a deep breath and is sitting down next to Liz. "Why are you spending most of your breaks here?"

Liz isn't looking up and turns the page. "Because of the fresh air, the sun, good memories."

"I remember the days when I almost got a heart attack because I couldn't look away for a second without you being disappeared or climbing up the highest tree."

The younger woman is smiling broadly and finally closes the book. "Yeah, I had a great childhood."

"So great." Jane is musing and frowns. "Either you or Mom tried to give me an heart attack, or the both of you tried it at the same time. I am surprised that I am still sitting here."

Liz is chuckling and pumps Jane's shoulder with her own. "I mean it, Ma. I really had a great childhood."

The older woman takes a deep breath and is looking into nowhere. "We did our best to give you the childhood that you've deserved. And I am glad to hear that we did a good job."

Liz nods and looks at her mother and starts to tug at a curly strand of hair like she used to do when she has been a little girl. She snickers as she sees the smile on Jane's lips and continues it.

"That's something you always did when you were little." Jane says but doesn't move a bit. "It always has been this strand, I don't know why."

Liz starts to laugh and puts her head on the taller woman's shoulder. "I sometimes miss it."

"To pull my hair?"

"No, to be lighthearted most of the times."

Jane is pressing her lips together and nods slowly. "I know what you are talking about, Liz."

"Have you been scared when Mom was pregnant?" The younger woman asks and looks up, frowning.

Jane is still looking into nowhere and furrows her eyebrows with a laugh. "God, yes. I have been a jitterbug as soon as Mom told me that she is pregnant with you. I mean, she had the miscarriage in her previous marriage and none of us has been twenty anymore. But you have been digging your little imaginary nails into Mom's uterus and didn't let it go until you had to."

"That was very graphical." Liz laughs amused.

Jane smiles broadly and takes a deep breath. "That's how I always explained it to myself after what Mom and you had to go through even though you haven't been born at that time."

Liz nods slowly and closes her eyes for a moment. Her parents had told her about the kidnapping when she has been old enough to understand what all of this really means and when the two mothers had thought that she wouldn't stay awake all night because of the story.

She takes a deep breath and turns the corners of her mouth downward. "I am scared too."

Jane smiles softly and is looking down at her daughter. "It's normal, Lizzy. Being scared of something can be a good thing sometimes. It can make us stronger, let us do things we normally wouldn't do."

"Like you let yourself beat up when Mom has been pregnant with me?" Liz replies and frowns once more.

Jane scoffs and takes a deep breath. "For a example, yes. I mean, I thought that I would protect those two persons I love the most. Well, that was before I met you for the first time."

The younger woman huffs with a smile and gives her mother a light shove. "Thank you very much."

Jane laughs heartily and pulls her daughter closer. "I am glad that you are who you are, sweetie."

Liz nods slowly and takes a deep breath. "And I am glad that the two of you are my parents."

"Did you tell Adam about how you are feeling?" Jane asks and waits for an answers. She looks down again and can tell that Liz didn't talk to Adam about her fears and worries. She somehow can sympathize with the young man because she once has been in the same place like he is now.

She takes a deep breath and doesn't say anything, because she knows that she would fight a losing battle right now.

Liz is taking a look at her watch and furrows her brows. "I have to go back to the station, Ma."

The older woman sighs loudly and nods slowly. "Yeah, I know." She says and is getting up from the bench. She knows all of this stone-walling all too well, and she knows that there is no way to talk any sense into her daughter right now, she once has been in the same age. She runs an hand over Liz' back and grits her teeth, she is wondering how much a child can get from one parent, especially the bad habits.

Liz can see the troubled eyes of her mother and engulfs her in a tight hug. "I love you, Ma."

"I love you too." Jane whispers and kisses the head of Liz.

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Soltini is sitting behind the desk that once belonged to Maura and is looking up as he hears someone coming up to his office. He furls his eyebrows as Liz is entering his office without asking for any permission.

Liz is dropping a pizza box to the table and sits down on the couch that also belonged to her mother and opens the book she had started to read before she met Jane in the park, taking a slice of pizza from the box.

He leans back in his chair and fold his hands. "Can I help you, Detective?"

She doesn't look at him and is chewing. "Uh, no."

"You are aware that this is my office now, right?"

"Yap."

Soltini is studying the young woman for a moment and takes a deep breath. "Why are you eating **your** pizza in **my** office?"

Now, she is looking up for a second and smirks wryly. "I needed a quiet place, but if you keep talking it isn't really quiet."

"You are free to go," he replies and wiggles his brows.

Liz doesn't say anything to that and points at the pizza. "Do you want some, it's good."

Soltini is sighing loudly and raises an hand. "I'm good, thank you."

"Come on, don't be that way. Sit with me and he some pizza."

"Maybe I don't like pizza." He says and gets up from his chair. "Maybe I don't even like you."

Liz is slowing the chewing and is scrutinizing his face with a slight frown. "No, I don't think you. Nothing of what you've said is true."

"What makes you think so?"

"Your body is giving you away. You are thinking about sitting down on that chair and you are looking at that pizza like you want to eat it all alone."

He drops his chin to his chest to hide his smile before he is looking up again. "I already heard that you are a good detective."

She smiles broadly and shrugs. "Reading people like that is a part of my job."

Soltini nods slowly and gets and is finally sitting down on a armchair. "If I wouldn't know it any better, I would think that you are flirting with me, Rizzoli."

Liz is choking on her food and starts to cough. "All I am is being friendly to you, **and** I am married."

He nods once more and shakes his head. "And why are you friendly to me?"

"I actually don't know." She answers and turns the corners of her mouth downwards.

"Well, that's a great answer." Soltini says with a hind of a smile and gets himself pizza now.

Liz is closing the book now and puts it to the side. "I am wondering why are vehemently trying not to smile. I am sure you look nice with a smile on your face."

Soltini furls his eyebrows and doesn't say anything right away. "Live doesn't give me enough reason to smile, and that's exactly the reason why I prefer to be left alone."

"I'll leave after I had my lunch."

He accidentally chuckles and shakes his head. "Of course."

She smiles broadly and takes a deep breath. "So, where are you coming from, Doc?"

"Seattle."

"And why did you come to Boston?"

"Well, I needed a job and you guys needed a new ME."

"Is that all?"

He pauses and sighs heavily. "I rather not talk about the other reason why I came to Boston."

Liz is sensing that she has crossed a line and turns serious again. She can see the pain in his eyes and that it is caused by the loss of a beloved person. "I am sorry for bringing painful memories up."

He waves the statement off and avoids her eyes so he doesn't let her see everything. He gets up from the chair and glances through the window into the autopsy room. "And why did you decide to take Lieutenant Rizzoli's path instead of Dr. Isles'?"

She shrugs and raises her brows. "It was a matter of heart. I like to do both jobs, but somehow police is more my passion."

"And your parents had been okay with your decision?"

"It's not like they had a lot of choices."

He openly chuckles now and turns to her. "You are a very willful woman."

She chuckles as well and nods slowly. "Some people say so, yes." She jumps a little as her phone starts to buzz and laughs heartily.

Soltini chuckles and shakes amused his head.

She gets up to her feet with a dramatic sigh and points at him. "We are still not done here."

"Why am I not surprised to hear that," he asks and is looking after the woman.

"I don't know." Her voice echoes from the hallway.

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Leslie is walking next to her best friend and frowns a little. "You have been spending a lot of time with Soltini the last days."

Liz is nodding slowly and shrugs. "Yeah."

"And he has changed a lot too. Soltini is smiling at work all of a sudden."

"That's not a crime."

Leslie takes a deep breath and stops abruptly. "Liz."

The brunette is looking confused to her left and turns as she can't see the redhead next to her. She furrows her brows as she sees the skeptical look of Leslie. "What?"

"What is going on between you and Soltini?" Leslie asks and starts to move again.

The brunette snorts and shakes her head. "Nothing is … going on, Leslie. We are only building up a friendship. Nothing more."

Leslie is grabbing her friend at the arm and is pulling her into a alley. She is worried because she has seen how Soltini has started to look at Liz over the last weeks since they started to build up a friendship and she has the fear that Liz isn't seeing it, or worse, that she likes his looks. "Liz, what the hell are you doing? You are married and you are pregnant."

Liz is looking in disbelief at Leslie and furls her brows. "I am doing nothing. Dr. Soltini and I are just friends."

"Do you notice how Soltini is looking at you?" Leslie replies and frowns deeply.

The brunette is rolling her eyes and chuckles humorlessly. "Do you think that I am cheating on Adam just because I make new friends?"

"No one says something because of new friends, but Soltini is ten years older than you."

"So? Mark has been ten years older than me too and you didn't came up me and asked if I am sleeping with him."

Leslie is sighing loudly and takes her friends hand in her own. "Yeah, but that was because all of us knew that Mark was married."

"So I can't be friends with an unmarried man?" The other woman is growling low and furls her eyebrows.

Leslie takes a deep breath and licks her lips. She can see that she won't get very far and purses her lips.

The brunette lowers her head so she can look directly into Leslie's eyes. "Wow, I thought you'd know me better."

Leslie isn't reacting right away as her friend turns on her heels and blinks a couple of times, but then she hurries after Liz. "Liz, wait."

The brunette shakes her head and has to fight keeping her tears at bay. "I am going home now, take a bath a try to forget that we had this conversation."

Leslie is stopping to follow the other woman and her shoulders are slumping. She knows that she should have broached the subject on a other way and is cursing herself right now for being such an idiot.

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Adam is wondering in which room of the house his wife is hiding and closes his eyes before he enters the bathroom. He is relieved when he sees her sitting in the tub and walks to it, sitting down on the edge. "Are you okay?"

Liz still has her head leaned back and her eyes are closed as she nods. "Yes," she whispers.

He let his hand wander over her collarbone and she has to smile a little. He let his eyes roam over her body and takes a deep breath. It has surprised him to find Liz' car in their driveway at such a time of day. "I thought you and Leslie would be in the city today."

"I … We had a little dispute." Liz says and looks at him now. "Nothing big, though."

He is scrutinizing her for a while and frowns. "Uh-huh."

She runs her hands over her face and sighs heavily. "I don't want to talk about it right now, Adam."

Adam takes a deep breath and let his hand trail along her jaw. He furrows his brows as soon as she tilts her head to the side and part her lips slightly. "Want me to go?"

Liz opens her eyes again and shakes her head now.

"Okay," he mumbles in the same moment.


	6. Chapter 6

Maura is wondering why Jane is walking nervously up and down, and sigh with a roll of her eyes. Frankie had told her too that her daughter and the new ME started to get off with each other, but she tries to stay calm and to hear the whole story of it. Experience has shown that people sometimes read much more into actions of two friends.

Her wife and she had been friends for years and most of their colleagues had thought that they would be romantically involved already back then.

"I thought that we had taught our child that adultery is no option." Jane grumbles and her face is dark.

Maura's head snaps up and stares in disbelief at the Italian, clearing her throat.

Jane stops her pacing and frowns. "What?"

"I think we are not the perfect example for that topic." The other woman answers with a shrug.

Jane is clenching her teeth and furrows her brows. "In all the time we are together now neither of us has cheated."

"Well, I don't have to remind you of Ben Payton, do I?"

"That was before Elizabeth was born, and actually I am not really proud of that."

Maura sighs heavily and is getting up from the couch. "No, me neither. But, Jane, people also thought that we would be a couple and in fact we only have been friends. Just because Liz and Dr. Soltini are spending more time together it doesn't have to mean that they are having an affair. Liz is smart, she would never do something like that."

Jane is looking deep into Maura's eyes as she let her hands wander down her own arms and for a brief second she is convinced, but then she huffs. "Cheating on someone don't have to do with IQ points, Maura. You should know that."

Maura is freezing and her eyebrows are shooting up high .

Jane sighs heavily and her shoulders slump before she places her head on her wife's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."

Maura takes a deep breath and let her hands roam over the Italian's back. She closes her eyes and shakes her head a little.

"I love you." Jane mumbles into her wife's hair and is pulling Maura closer.

"I love you too, Jane." The smaller woman whispers and licks her lips. "I love you some much."

"Let's go to bed." Jane suggests and has a small smile on her lips.

Maura arches an eyebrow and smirks broadly. "Something is telling me that you have no intention to sleep."

Jane chuckles and starts to lead the way.

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Liz is sitting at the kitchen counter and is yawning when someone is ringing the doorbell. She looks up at the clock and furls her eyebrows. She knows that it can't be Adam because he has his own keys and because he is with Chaz running, and she knows that it also can't be her mothers because Maura would have given her a warning.

She gets up from her chair and makes her way to the front door, looking through the peephole. She groans and leans her forehead against the cool wood before she unlocks and open it. She smiles broadly and raises her eyebrows. "Good morning, T.J."

The younger copy of Tommy is smiling broadly and raises an hand. "Morning. Can I come in?"

"Do I have a other choice," she asks back and steps to the side. She is almost sure that he isn't here for no reason. "Do you wanna have a cup of coffee?"

He turns his head and frowns. "Real coffee?"

She's scoffing and makes her way into the kitchen. "Adam would drop dead if he would have to drink decaffeinated coffee. I won't risk that, being a single mom can be a hard job."

Her cousin chuckles and takes a slice of bacon from Liz' plate. "Speaking of Adam, you guys okay?"

Liz takes a deep breath and pours T.J. a cup of coffee. "Frankie voice his worries in front of you too?"

The young man takes a deep breath and sips the beverage. "You know how our family is working, Liz. Everyone knows everything."

Liz clenches her teeth and braces herself on the counter. "Adam and I are fine, we are happy. And I do not have an affair with Don Soltini. I am must friends with him."

T.J. is nodding slowly and wiggles his eyebrows. "You sure?"

"What does that suppose to mean?"

"I'm just asking. I mean you are spending a lot of time with Soltini."

Liz furls her brows and crosses her arms over her chest. "Adam and I are spending every single minute together. We work together and we go to all the prenatal classes. I didn't know that we have to be glued together. Are you going to ask him too? Because he meets every second night his friends at Greely's. Maybe he is the one who is having an affair."

T.J. straightens up and he turns serious. "Do you think that? Do you think he is cheating on you?"

" **No** ," she answers emphatically and furrows her eyebrows. "No one is cheating, T.J.. We … we only need a break sometimes. And that's why I go down to Soltini's office and have a nice chat with him, that's all. I can understand that everything suddenly thinks that, T.J., I really do. It would be the same story like it has been with Ma and Mom, but I do love my husband. "

He nods slowly and takes a deep breath. "Got it."

"I hope so," she replies and slaps his hand as T.J. is about to snatch more bacon from her plate. "And stop eating my food, jerk."

"You know that I am older, right?"

"So?"

He starts to laugh and wiggles his brows again and she joins him.

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Adam is looking long at the woman behind the kitchen island and is frowning a little. Something seems to keep her mind busy and he really wants to know what she is thinking about right now, but he also knows that it is not the best idea to ask Liz what is wrong.

She places an bottle of water in front of Adam and licks her lips as she avoids his gaze. She is wondering if she and her new friend really always left the impression the they are more than just friends, it would explain why some of her colleagues acted strangely around her all of a sudden. She knows that her husband is a very respected detective at the department and does have a lot of friends and connection in there, and she also knows that she would be very lonely if the suspicions would grow stronger.

She has no reason to feel guilty because there has happened nothing between her and Soltini, but she doubts that there would be many people in the station believe her. Liz is tensing up when she feels a firm grip around her wrist and finally meets Adam's eyes.

"Hey," he says carefully and his frown is deepening. "what's wrong?"

Liz opens her mouth to answer his question, but then she shakes her head with a weak smile.

Adam can see that it is not the truth and that she has to swallow hard. He tightens his hold and is forcing her to look at him. His heart is dropping as the fight within her is mirrored in her eyes and he furls his eyebrows. He isn't sure with what she currently is struggling, but he can say that it can't be something good. He releases her wrist and grits his teeth.

Liz can see that realization is setting in and is about to round the island. "Adam -"

He buries his face in his hands and releases a heavy sigh. "I should have seen it. I should have **know** it."

She starts to worry her bottom lip and furrows her eyebrows. "Adam -" She starts again but is trailing off as soon as her husband shakes his head.

Adam drops his hands again and runs an hand through his hair. "People talk about it, you know."

"Talk about what?" She almost whispers and has to force the tears in her eyes back.

"That you are cheating on me with Soltini."

Liz closes her eyes and starts shaking her head. "I never have been cheating on you, Adam."

"But you are not sure if you start to feel more than friendship for him." He states and swallows the lump in his throat.

She rounds the island in no time and is forcing him to look up at her. "No." She says and is cupping his face with her hands. "No, I am very sure that the only thing I am feeling for Soltini is friendship." She let her left hand trail to the back of his neck and starts to caress it. "And I am more than sure that I have romantic feelings for only one man, and that man is you."

"So, why are you making a face like you are about to tell me that you are about to leave me?"

"There are many things I have in mind."

Adam is nodding slowly and takes a deep breath. "Talk to me, Liz."

She is silent for long seconds and shrugs. "The thing with Soltini, for example. And then the pregnancy and the job."

Adam takes a deep breath and pulls his wife closer at her hips. "And why didn't you talk to me about it?"

Liz is hesitating and shrugs. "Because I thought that it is crazy to worry about stuff like that."

"To worry about the pregnancy and work?"

"Mm-hm."

Adam has to force the smile back and places an hand on the slight baby bump that starts to show now. "I am afraid too, Elizabeth. I am terrified sometimes. I mean, it is the first child for both of us, we have absolutely no clue what is expecting us. At some nights I am asking myself if I am going to be a good dad or if I am going to suck, and what kind of parents we are going to be. And I am wondering if our child is going to hate us at the end. And I wonder if our baby is going to be healthy and how we will react if it needs special care. But there is one thing I am sure of."

Liz is holding his gaze and takes a deep breath. "And what is that?"

He smiles now and his eyes are softening. "That I love you, and that we are going to love our baby. And that we are going to get any help that we need if we are asking for."

"That was more than only one thing." She replies and starts to smile when he is rolling his eyes. "But I love you too."

Adam chuckles and shakes his head once more before she kiss him.

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Liz is furrowing her eyebrows and groans as soon as the buzzing sound of her phone is reaching her brain. "Go away." She mumbles into her pillow.

Adam is mumbling something unintelligible and lift his hand from her hip.

The brunette is forcing the hand back at is place and sighs. "Not you, the phone."

He grunts in respond and skids closer.

She smiles and is more than sure that one of her drunk friends tried to reach her to ask if she can give them a ride home. That assumption is on the scrap heap, because her phone starts to buzz again.

She groans again and switch the bedside lamp on, getting the device into her hand. The young woman takes the call and is listening attentively to the caller, sitting up immediately.

Adam tries to swat the hand away that is shaking him awake and runs his hands over his face. He is sure that he hasn't been in coma for the last five months and wonders why his wife is waking him at such hour of night.

Liz is ending the call and folds the blanket back. "You have to get up, Adam."

"Go away, get up. Yes, Ma'am." He mumbles and folds the blanket with closed eyes back as well. "Are you in labor?"

"What?" Liz chuckles amused and frowns. "No. We have to work."

Adam is sitting on the edge of the bed and let his head hang. "Even better. Do I have time to shave my face."

"Nope." She says and smiles wryly.

He sighs loudly and gets up to his feet.


	7. Chapter 7

The married couple are arriving at the new crime scene and Liz is frowning as she sees the neat one-story house and the police presence in front of it.

"Odd." Adam mumbles and is walking next to her wife.

She nods approvingly and thrusts her chin at Chaz, who seems to be waiting for them. "Hey, where is Frankie?"

"Still on leave." The other man answers with a shrug. "Operation called me. God knows why."

Adam smirks and is patting his shoulder. "What do we got?"

"Female victim, white, twenty-six."

Liz takes a deep breath and put a pair of gloves on. "Do we have a name?"

Chaz is nodding and opens his notepad. "We indeed do. The victim's name is Amanda Maloney. It's her parents house, seems like she still lived with them."

"And where are the parents?"

"Out of town. I am going to call 'em in the morning."

Liz releases her breath through her mouth and starts to walk towards the house. "Damn. Shall we?"

The two men nod and follow her hot on her heels.

The young woman enters the building and can see that this family is coming from the middle class and that they a having a good life, until now. She is aware of the fact that the death of a child, no matter how old it is, can shake up a family and that the death can destroy them.

Liz has adapted the view of her parents when it comes to the job. She doesn't care how old the victim is. If it is poor or rich, black or white. If it has a criminal record or not. For her, everyone is equal. There are families and there are friends who want to have answers. The answer of why, how and who. And she has decided to find out the truth, the reason why and to talk for those who can't tell the story anymore.

She is aware of the fact that there are parts of the victim's life which are going to be unbelievable and even painful bereaved, because they didn't know about such a drastically change of life style. Her Ma always has told her that that kind of parts in the job is always the hard one. She has to agree with that. Since she has joined Homicide, she has seen many families shattering. She stops at a shelf and takes a framed picture into her gloved hand. It shows a perfect family at the victim's graduation day. She had to learn that such pictures can fool everyone, even the most experienced Homicide detectives.

Liz put the picture back and is following the noises which are coming from the bedroom. She nods at the criminal techs and slows her moves as soon as she spots Soltini standing next to the bed on which the undressed young woman is laying in a large puddle of blood. A large knife is in the middle of her chest is clearly visible.

She takes a deep breath and nods to herself. "Good morning everyone." She says and the techs are murmuring their hello.

Adam's face hardens as soon as he sees the smile on the ME's face as Soltini lays eyes on his wife and he wants to punch his face. He believes Liz that she isn't interested in more than friendship, but he can't see what the other man's intentions are. He is clenching his teeth and wiggles his eyebrows. "I guess the cause of death is pretty clear."

"I wouldn't say that, Detective Laverty." Soltini replies and is holding Adam's stare.

Chaz is furling his brows and looks down at Liz.

The brunette is clearing her throat and takes a closer look around in the room. "I couldn't see any signs for a forced entry and this room looks like she Amanda knew the person that she met. The room doesn't look like a fight took place in here. Perhaps a sexual encounter that went wrong?"

Soltini is looking up from his clipboard. "What makes you think so?"

She takes a deep breath and furrows her brows. "Well, I doubt that she got undressed and stabbed herself into the chest. And I doubt that the murderer put Amanda's clothes neatly folded on that chair."

Soltini is following her finger with his eyes and raises his brows as he glance at a stack of clothes. "Good point."

A low growl is escaping from Adam's throat and the young man takes a wallet that is laying on a nightstand into his hand. He opens it and his heart is dropping. "Shit," he hisses.

Liz is about to take a closer look at the stack of clothes and her eyes snaps up as soon as she hears her husband. "What is it?"

Adam is hesitating before he get the ID out of the wallet and hands it to the brunette. "I think we have a problem, Liz."

Liz is looking at the ID and she can feel the color draining from her face because she knows the face on the photo all to well. "Oh, my God." She whispers and shows Chaz the photo.

Chaz is reacting the same way and his eyes are growing huge.

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Liz is sitting at the metal table in the interrogation room and is frowning deeply. She isn't really sure how to start this interview and everyone that it doesn't happen very often, never to be exact. She licks her lips and shakes her head slightly because the thoughts in her head are getting louder with every second.

The brunette clench her teeth and swallows down the lump in her throat. "Where have you been last nigh, Sam?"

Sam is smiling at his cousin and shrugs. "I have been out with a couple of friends. Look, if Dad is behind all of this I've learned my lesson, all right. Can I go know?"

Adam is looking long at him and furrows his brows as Sam is about to stand up. "No, you can't." He points at the uncomfortable chair. "Sit down."

Sam rolls his eyes and is doing as Adam told him. He crosses his arms over his chest and shrugs. "What is all of this about? Because I had a little too much?"

Liz is pressing her lips together and shoves a picture of Amanda Maloney over the table. She points at the smiling face and her face is hard. "Do you know her?"

Sam sighs dramatically and glance down at the picture. He furls his brows and nods slowly. "Yeah, she is a … friend of mine. Amanda Maloney. No matter what Cameron has told you, she has nothing to do with it."

Adam is straightening up and licks his lips. "Who is Cameron?"

Sam scoffs and lifts an shoulder. "Cameron McIntosh, he is Amanda's ex-boyfriend. He is Andrew McIntosh's son and an idiot. Just because he is the son of a chairman, he thinks that he owns all of Massachusetts."

Liz is swallowing hard and nods. "Have you been … have you been with Amanda last night?"

Her cousin starts to chuckle. "You know that I love you like a sister, but this is a little too private."

"Amanda is dead, Sam." Adam says and the smile on Sam's lips is dying. "She has been murdered and we found your wallet in her bedroom."

"Oh, my God." Sam says loudly and buries his face in his hands. "Oh, my God."

"Have you been with Amanda last night." Liz asks and is leaning forward.

Sam starts to nod and looks at her. "Yes. Yes, I was with her and we have had sex after we arrived at her house. It wasn't my intention, though. Amanda and I have been friends since high school and I asked her if she can loan me money for the ride home, she knew that I would giver her the money back the next time we meet. But Amanda offered me a ride home. And then she pulled up at her parents house, I knew that she still lived with her parents and I said that I am not feeling really comfortable with this, but Amanda said that her parents would be out of town. We went in and had a good time, we had a beer or two. And then one thing led to the other." He pauses and looks with big brown eyes at her. "When I left, Amanda was alive."

Liz is beyond serious and she has to drop her gaze for a moment. She licks her lips as she is looking back up and frowns. "What time was it when you left the house?"

The younger man runs both of his hands through his hair and is squinting up at the ceiling. "I am not sure."

"Think, Sam. Think hard."

"I … I don't know. Maybe 1.30 in the night, it also could have been two."

"How did you get home?" Adam asks and frowns as well. "Did you call a cab?"

Sam starts to shake his head and worries his bottom lip. "No, I walked home. I needed the fresh air to sober. I mean, Amanda and I had been friends for a while and I wasn't sure what all of this had to mean. I needed to think about it because I was sure that she and I need to talk about it to get things straight again."

Adam nods slowly and is scratching the back of his head. "Did someone see you on your way home?"

The Rizzoli man shrugs and raises his eyebrows high. "I honestly don't know. It can be. I mean, I didn't look out for other people and told them who I am to have a solid alibi. I didn't even know that I'd need one until today."

"We found your wallet on her nightstand." Adam says but the usual sharp tone is missing. "Did you accidentally left it in Amanda's room?"

Sam is shaking his head and raises his brows. "That's not possible. My missing wallet has been the reason why I sponged money off Amanda. Someone must have stolen my wallet and I am a cop's kid. I learned early not to drive if I had too much." He looks pleading at his cousin. "Liz, I didn't kill Amanda."

Liz has to swallow the sentence _I know_ and licks her lips. "Sam, call your lawyer."

"I don't have a lawyer," her cousin says louder. "I never needed one, and I don't need a -"

"Just call Dani, alright." Liz she hisses and can see that Sam starts to understand. "I am sure she is more than willed to take you in as her pro bono."

He nods slowly and frowns, sniffling. "I swear to God, I didn't kill Amanda."

Liz has to suppress the urge to place an hand over his forearm and closes the folder in front of her before she gets up from the chair. "Just do what I told you and let us do our job. Everything's gonna be fine. You can go now, but -"

"Yeah, I know the thrill." Adam cuts his cousin off and gets up to his feet as well. "I won't leave Boston."

Liz nods slowly and turns to leave and her husband is following her out of the interrogation room.

Adam takes a deep breath and frowns deeply as Liz is disappearing in the break room. He is sure that she wants to be alone for a second but he follows her anyway. He closes the door behind him and doesn't say a word as he sees that she let her head hang. "I am one hundred percent sure that he has absolutely nothing to do with the murder." He says and frowns.

Liz is raising her head again and presses her lips together before she turns to him. "Well, good thing that a good DA doesn't give a shit about what we are thinking, Adam. Every single evidence is saying that Sam committed the murder. I don't need to be a fortune teller to know that Soltini is going to find Sam's semen in Amanda, which means that we are have to arrest him because he doesn't have an alibi and he was one of two people who saw her alive for the last time. And I am still an optimist."

"Doesn't sound very optimistic to me. And I don't think that you believe that Sam killed her."

She closes her eyes and leans her head back in the neck. "You are right, I do not believe that. But I don't know how to prove that Sam is innocent, or how to explain my family why my cousin became a prime murder suspect at all. God, that's what I needed right now."

Adam can see the unshed tears in thru eyes of his wife and pulls her against his body. "We are going to find out what happened to Amanda, and we are going to prove that Sam was set up."

"God, I hope you are right," she mumbles against his chest and looks up now.

He nods with perked eyebrows and smiles a little. "Have I ever been wrong?"

Liz scoffs and buries her face into his chest. "Plenty of times."

Adam smiles a little and rubs her back soothingly. "It's gonna be okay, Liz. I promise." He murmurs and the woman in his arms is nodding approvingly.

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Jane is staring at the TV and is holding a bottle of beer in her hand, but she isn't really focusing on the running device. She thought that it was odd for her daughter to show up after work without calling them, and the fact that Liz isn't talking much tonight doesn't make her any less suspicious. And now her two favorite women are sitting at the dining table and are playing chess. She looks over her shoulder and can tell that something else is occupy her daughter's mind then her next move, especially because Liz haven't talked much about work at all, and that is very unusual for Liz.

The older woman clears her throat and put the bottle of beer on the coffee table. "So, how is work lately?"

Liz is about to make her move and freezes as soon as the question is out in the room. She swallows hard and drops her hand, pretending to think about her decision. "Good."

Jane turns her whole body and is looking at her wife, who is deeply frowning because of the short answer. "Any interesting cases?"

Liz runs an hand through her open hair and takes a deep breath. "Nope."

Jane's eyes are meeting the skeptical ones of Maura and furls her eyebrows. _I wish she would break out in hives just like Maura when she's lying_ , she is thinking and sighs. _But you can't have it all._ She gets up from the couch and pretend to get herself a new beer. "And why didn't Adam join us for dinner tonight?"

Liz is still avoiding her Ma's eyes and purse her lips. "He is meeting with Noah and a other old friend for a couple of drinks."

"And you are waiting for a call to pick him up?"

"Yap, something like that."

Maura is licking her lips now and furrows her brows a little. "Honey, something is bothering you. Has it to do with Dr. Soltini?"

Now, the younger woman's eyes are snapping up and she shakes her head. "What? No, Mom. It has nothing to do with Soltini, I just have a bad day."

"Nope, not selling it." Jane says and crosses her arms over her chest.

"That I have a bad day?"

"That it is the only reason that you have a bad day."

Liz is leaning back and takes a deep breath. "We actually got a case that is pretty complicated. A young woman got stabbed last night. The murderer drove the knife directly through her heart and it looks like the killer raped her while she bled to death."

"Oh my." Maura whispers and starts to shake her head.

Jane's face hardens immediately and she shifts her weight from one foot to the other. "What about evidence?"

Liz wiggles her brows and leans back in her chair. "We do have enough evidence to nail him down."

The former detective shrugs and furls her brows again. "And why are you hesitating to bring him down?"

Liz is looking down into her lap and is chewing on the inside of her cheek. "Because it is Sam who is suspected." She mumbles almost silently.

Jane takes a step closer and blinks a couple of times. "Speak up, Elizabeth."

The young woman is lifting her head and sniffles. "Because everything is pointing at Sam."

Maura is gasping horrified and her chair is almost knocking over as she leans back in it.

Jane is staring in disbelief at her daughter and her jaw has hit the floor. "Sam?" She asks in shock. "You are talking about Sam Rizzoli, my brother's son and the boy who always has been like a brother to you?"

Liz furrows her brows and nods with tears in her eyes. "We found his wallet at the crime scene and he admitted that he has been at the victim's place." She says and gets up to her feet, running an hand through her hair once more. "I know what the DNA test is going to say tomorrow because Sam told us that he have had sex with Amanda Maloney before she got killed, and he doesn't have an alibi." She pauses and shakes her head. "And if Sam's semen is the only one Soltini found in the victim, I have to arrest him. And I don't know what to do, Ma."

Jane's face is unreadable as the words are sinking in and she clenches her teeth. She isn't sure what she is feeling in this moment. She has been in her daughter's shoes more than once and she knows in what kind of situation Liz is right now, but her anger is getting the best of her in this moment. She straightens her shoulders and points at the front door. "Get out!"

"Jane." Maura says calmly and gets up to her feet, trying to calm her wife.

Liz' face went blank and her chin starts to tremble. She is feeling like her Ma is pouring ice cold water over her whole body. "What?" She whispers with a shaking voice.

Jane is taller than usually now and r facial muscles are twitching. " **GET. OUT. OF. MY. HOUSE**!"

Liz is blinking a couple of times and nods slowly as the words start to make sense to her. "Okay," she says and is wincing her Ma storms past her up the stairs. She buries her face in her hands and her shoulders start to shake.

Maura looks softly at her devastated daughter and makes a step forward. "Elizabeth -"

"I'm gonna be fine, Mom." Liz cuts her off and wipes her tears away. "Someone needs to be blamed, this time it is me. I'll be fine."

Maura sighs heavily. "Honey -"

"I'm gonna go now. Go, check on Ma."

Maura shakes her head and engulfs her daughter in a tight hug. "I am so sorry, Liz."

The young woman nods before she pulls away and hurries out of the front door.

Maura is closing her eyes for a second before she is stomping up the stairs so she can give her wife a dressing-down. She can't believe herself that her nephew should be a murderer, but that's not a reason to let go off anger at her daughter. She forces the bedroom door open and slams it shut. "Are you out of your mind," she asks loudly.

Jane is turning to her wife and furrows her brows. "I do not allow that they are going to arrest Sam, he is my nephew."

"And Elizabeth is your daughter." Maura replies at the top of her voice. " **She is your only daughter** , **Jane**."

" **That doesn't give her the right to** -"

" **Liz stood in front of you and told you in the face that she don't know what to do, Jane. She came here to get an advice of you and not to be blamed for something she didn't do yet.** "

Jane steps closer and growls low. "Sam is my family, our family for which I am responsible."

Maura doesn't back away or blink. "And Liz is what? Just a mongrel we took in?"

Jane's face is darkening even more and lifts her right index finger. "Don't you dare." She says and her voice is dropping.

Maura still isn't moving and her face is hard too. "I am nor afraid of you, Jane. Sam is family, yes. But Elizabeth is your very own daughter, and blaming her for something that isn't her fault. You should know how she is feeling right now. Once, you had to investigate against Tommy and me, but instead of standing by her side you prefer to yell at Liz and to throw her out." She waits and can see that Jane is calming down a little. "You know that she came by because Liz was looking for our help, she was sitting in our dining room and racked her brain how to break those news. And as you forced her too, you reacted very, **very** poorly. So don't you dare being angry at our daughter. You have absolutely no right to be angry at her."

Jane doesn't say a word and grits her teeth, and her anger seems to fade away. "Maura," she says and wants to touch her wife's hand.

The graying blonde swats the hand away and furls her brows. "Don't you dare touching me right now, I am really mad at you right now." She warns and makes her way to the bathroom.

Jane closes her eyes and drops her head to the chest. She is mad again, but not at Liz or Maura this time. She is mad at herself and she knows that she has all reason to feel so right now. "Damn it." She hisses and buries her face in her hands. _How to disappoint your family. Step one: Blame your daughter for something that isn't her fault and then throw her out of your house_.

 _Step two: Yell at your wife a try to buffalo her._

 _Congratulations, Jane. You've done really good. Your diploma will be send to you any time soon_.


	8. Chapter 8

**I make it short. Thank you for reading and following. And of course you are welcome to tell me your mind.**

 **I hope that you like the next chapter.**

 **T73.**

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The next morning, Adam is kissing the top of Liz' head long and sighs as she shoves the eggs with her fork from one side of the plate to the other. He isn't sure for how long she has been clinging to him and cried her eyes out the last night, but he is sure that he is going to give it to Jane straight as soon as he sees her again. It's not like he doesn't respect her, but hurting the woman's feeling he loves is beyond acceptable for him. "Just eat a little bit, all right." He says softly and sighs as she nods. He frowns when someone is knocking at the front door and somehow he already knows who it is. "I got this."

Liz also knows who is knocking and she licks her lips. "Adam."

He makes his way to the door and lifts an hand. "I got this, Liz." He says and opens the door. His face hardens immediately and steps over the threshold, closing the door behind him. "You really have the balls to show up here after what you have done to her?"

"She is my daughter." Jane replies meekly and is looking everywhere but at him.

He appears to be taller now and he clenches his teeth. "Really? Because that's not the impression she got from you last night. Putting your nephew before your daughter, that's poor, Jane."

Jane is raising her gaze now and takes a deep breath. "I know. I know, I shouldn't have done that. Instead, I should have listen and give her the best advices I can give, I should have protect her. That's what mothers are for. And I failed. I want to … I am here to …"

Adam releases his breath through his mouth and starts to open the door, but then he stops abruptly. "Just one wrong words and I throw you out of **our** house. That's what husbands are for."

Jane smiles wryly and nods as she enters the house. "Got it." She always knew that he is that kind of guy who is going to watch all of it for a while and then steps in when it is enough for him.

Liz is stopping to chew and wants to put her plate away as soon she sees her mother. "Morning," she mumbles.

Jane lifts an hand and frowns. "Please, I am not here to ruin your appetite. I am here to apologize for my behavior last night."

"Well, you gave me the feeling like I am the one who set up Sam." Liz is crunching and wiggles her brows.

Jane takes a deep breath and is sitting down next to her daughter. "I know and that was wrong. You came to Mom and me for seeking advice and I acted you like you are some random idiotic detective who don't know how to do the job. Apparently, I am more than wrong."

"Admitting your mistake must hurt so much." Adam mumbles.

Jane is looking at him and opens her briefcase. "I could drop dead right now." She replies and he snorts.

She stops her motions and furls her brows. "Now, I like you a little less." She says with a smirk and he nods at her.

Liz is still skeptical and frowns as her Ma get a couple of notebooks out of the briefcase. "And what is that?"

Jane is frowning and clears her throat. "Um, those are some kind of diary of mine. Those books include the kind of case, the MO's of the preps and my ways how my team and I solved the cases. And as you know, I had to investigate two times against family. Tommy has been framed with bank robbery and murder, and Mom has been framed with murder." She sighs and places an hand on a stack of notebooks. "And these are my notes. They are yours now. Get inspired by them, solve the case."

"You know, those books could be great textbooks." Adam throws in as he pours himself and Jane a coffee.

Jane is lowering her brows and is keeping her daughter from opening one of the books. "Some things are only for family."

Liz is sputtering and arches an eyebrow. "I know, Ma."

Jane is grinning like an idiot and leans her forehead against her daughter's.

"Can I take a look at your private library," Adam asks and places Jane's mug in front of her. "I am family."

Jane looks long at him and is about to growl. "You are, somehow."

"Hey, I am the father of your first grandchild." He says and laughs and Liz swats his arm.

Jane releases her breath with a hissing sound. "True."

Liz splutter and rolls her eyes now.

Jane smiles and takes a deep breath. "If you need any help, Mom and I are here for you, both of you."

Adam is nodding slowly and takes a look at his eyebrows wife. He knows that none of these two women are really capable to apologize properly when it comes to them, that's why he thinks that this is better than nothing. He nods slowly and takes a deep breath. "We sure come back to that."

Jane is nodding as well and is eyeing her daughter. She would prefer to hear that from Liz, but she is aware of the fact that he is the logical part in this investigation right now.

Liz is glancing at her Ma and opens one of Jane's notebooks, clenching her teeth. She is appreciating that Jane is trying to apologize on that way, but she isn't quite sure if she can condone her Ma's outburst of last night. She has been standing in the driveway as she heard how Maura had taken her side and picked up an fight with Jane. It scared the young woman that her mothers had been yelling at each other once again like she had been doing when she has been a little girl and thought that she wouldn't catch what is going on.

Jane is licking her lips and frowns deeply. She already has seen that kind of expression of her daughter, but it is a while ago and her daughter has closed up in that time just like she is doing now. She runs an hand through her hair and sighs loudly. "Give me a call if you need anything."

Liz is pressing her lips together and nod without looking up.

Jane is nodding as well and heads towards the front door. She stops and is considering to say something, but then she is thinking better of it and leaves without saying another word.

Adam exhales slowly through his mouth and looks at the young brunette. "You okay?"

Liz turns the corners of her mouth downward and nods once again without saying a word. She is sure that her voice would give her away right now and prefers to stay silent.

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Liz is standing with crossed arms in the autopsy room and is looking long at Amanda who is laying on the table. It is not the first time that she sees a woman in her age laying on it, but it never got to her like that. It can be that it is because her own cousin is accused of murder this time. She takes a deep breath and furrows her eyebrows.

She turns her head and smiles a little when Soltini is entering the room with a file in his hand.

He holds it up and wiggles his brows. "I think that's what you are waiting for."

She nods and accepts the file, opening it. "Is that the DNA result?" She hesitates for a moment as he nods and opens the folder. She hates the fact that she can read stuff like that and is wishing that she'd have to ask Soltini to explain what she is looking at. She closes the file again. She worries her bottom lip and swallows hard. "So, no other DNA then Sam's?"

"Correct," he agrees and shrugs. "I am sorry, Liz."

She sighs and presses her lips together. Her head is buzzing even though she was expecting something like that. "It's not your fault, Steven. You're just doing your job." She says and starts walking. "And now I am going to do mine. Thanks for that."

Soltini takes a deep breath and nods slowly. "You're welcome."

Liz is pushing the double door open and makes her way to the elevator. She can't tell why but a alarm in her head is setting off. Well, beside the fact that she is beyond sure that Sam isn't capable to commit a murder. She is waiting for the elevator but then she decide to take the stairs because the elevator is taking too long for her taste.

The brunette takes two steps at a time and is surprised that she isn't out of breath when she has reached the third floor and wiggles impressed her brows. She makes her way into the bullpen and holds the folder up. "The DNA result is back." She announces unceremoniously and her husband turns to her. "Soltini only found Sam's DNA."

Adam closes his eyes and runs an hand over his beard. "Damn it." He whispers and drops his chin to his chest.

Chaz is coming into the bullpen and frowns deeply. "I have been checking on Cameron McIntosh has a clean slate. Not even a parking ticket."

"That's unusual." Liz states and crosses her arms over her chest. "Even I got a parking ticket."

Adam scrunch up his nose. "Really?"

She rolls her eyes and takes a deep breath. "There has to be something. Did you check Amanda's -" She trails off as soon as Frankie is storming into the bullpen.

Frankie stomps up to Adam and gives him a good push. "Are you serious?"

Adam is giving the older man a baffled look and holds up his hands. "Easy, Frankie."

"Are you seriously suspecting my son of committing a murder?" The older man barks.

Adam doesn't answer the question and grit his teeth.

Liz steps between the two men and furrows her brows. "Frankie, calm down, all right."

Frankie is blinking a couple of times and huffs. "Calm down. Calm down? How the hell am I suppose to calm down when you guys are about to arrest my son?"

She places her hands on the shoulders of her uncle to sooth him. "We are not arresting Sam, and we know that he is innocent. We are already working on it to prove it, Frankie, but you know that it is going to take a little while. You know the thrill."

Frankie is staring down at her and she can see in his eyes that she got through to him. He takes a deep breath and wiggles his brows. "Okay. Okay, what can I do?"

Liz drops her hands back to her sides and it is hard for her to say the next sentence out loud. "Go home to your family, Frankie, they need you right now, be there for them."

He starts to shake his head. "Elizabeth -"

"I know," she says and starts to lead him towards the entrance. "I know that you wanna help, Frankie. But you can't be a part of this investigation, and no one knows it better than you. I told Sam to call Dani, if the worst comes to the worst. He needs you right now as his backing."

"You keep me up to date." Frankie says and frowns deeply as makes his way to the elevator.

Liz tries to smile but she is sure that her lips are just a thin line. She can understand that her uncle wants to be involved in the case, but she can't jeopardize that it gets corrupted because the son of a highly decorated Homicide Detective is currently the prime suspect.

Frankie understand the silence and is nodding now. He let his head hang as he enters the elevator and his eyes stay glued to Liz' as the door closes.

Liz releases her breath as soon as her uncle is out of sigh and runs her hands over her face. She turns on her heels and starts to walk back in the direction of the bullpen. If this has been quite usual in the time she has been a little girl, she can understand now why her Ma came home jaded every now and then.

She enters the bullpen again and places an hand on her belly as she feels a stinging in abdomen.

Adam is about to hand Chaz a note that he is holding in his hand and stops dead in his tracks when he sees her movement on the corner of his eye. He is giving his friend some instructions and walks up to her, directly into his wife's personal space. "You okay?" He hushes and looks around in the office.

Liz is closing her eyes briefly and nods once. "Yeah, I'm fine. It's just a little stressful the last days and I haven't eat yet."

"Go home. Chaz and I got this," he orders and looks with a serious face down at her.

She snorts and furrows her brows. "No, I am not going home, Adam. We have work to do."

"Liz -" He starts.

"You might be the senior detective right now, Adam, and with all due respect but I am not going home. We can discuss this tonight." She hisses and holds his gaze.

Adam takes a deep breath and clench his teeth. "Fine." He nods and takes a step back, handing her the other folder that Chaz gave him. "Chaz has been looking for everything that he can find about Cameron McIntosh and Amanda Maloney's relationship. Looks like he likes to share his private life with the whole digital world."

Liz sits down on her desk chair and takes a look at the findings. She thumbs through the printings and raises her brows. "He posted about everything he and Amanda have been doing as a couple. Looks like he shared their lives with the net and a lot of users seemed to be very interested in it."

Adam nods slowly and sits down on the edge of her desk. "I told Chaz to dig deeper in McIntosh's life to see if he already has a new girlfriend."

Liz wiggles her brows and presses her lips together once more, dropping the folder to her desk. "Well, now we have hundreds of potential suspects instead of just one." She sees Leslie passing the bullpen and is snapping her fingers until she gets the redhead's attention. "Are you going to get lunch?"

Leslie furls her brows and looks briefly at Adam. "Why?"

He chuckles and drops his chin to his chest.

Liz smiles sweetly at her friend and lifts one shoulder. "If you do so, could you get me a bacon cheeseburger with extra bacon and fries?"

Leslie rolls her eyes and thrusts her chin at Adam. "Sure. Do you want to have something too, Adam?"

He smiles and nods slowly. "The same for me."

Leslie snorts and is about to walk away, grumbling something.

"Thank you, Leslie." Liz laughs amused and looks at her husband with a glint in her eyes.

He raises his eyebrows high. "A bacon cheeseburger, extraordinary."

She smirks and leans back in her chair. "I ate a lot of healthy stuff the last weeks, I think I can go for a burger today."

Adam chuckles again and gets up to his feet. "You won't hear me complaining about it." He takes a deep breath and flops down on his own chair. "So, where do we start now?"

Liz is thinking for a moment and furls her brows. "We take a closer look at each member who has read and commented on those posts. If Cameron McIntosh has something to do with Amanda's death, we might have a good chance to find someone who knows about it."

"You think someone he hired someone in the internet to kill Amanda?" Adam asks skeptically and looks long at his wife. "That's a long shot, Liz."

She wiggles her brows and sighs heavily. "I know, but it is a start."

He turns the corners of his mouth downward and takes a swig of his coffee. He can see the longing look of Liz and starts smirking.

She splutter and rolls her eyes. "That's not cool."

"It's not my fault that you can't drink coffee."

"No," she asks and starts to type on her keyboard.

He chokes on his coffee and chuckles. "Maybe a little bit."

Liz is tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Maybe a lot."

"I always thought it takes two for that."

She glances over her screen and smirks mischievously at her husband.

Adam's heart is dropping and has to swallow hard as he sees that smirk, shifting in his seat.

She grunts amused and arches an brow. "Why are you nervous all of a sudden?"

He clears his throat and tries to ignore her amused tone. "I am not nervous."

"Detective Laverty," says a uniformed officer as he sticks his head into the room and the two detectives are looking at the man. "Amanda Maloney's parents are here."

Adam takes a deep breath, gets up from the chair and grabs his jacket from the back of the chair. "Here comes the funny part. Do you wanna join me?"

Liz exhales loudly through her mouth, closes the file with Cameron McIntosh's postings and gets up to her feet too. "Yeah, I just give that to one of the BRIC analysts, they can go through this faster anyway. Give me five minutes."

He nods once and put the jacket on. "We'll be in the small conference room."

"All right." She says and starts to head towards BRIC.

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The brunette rounds the corner after she has asked a BRIC analyst to check the social media followers of Cameron McIntosh and thanked him for his help. She can see a older blond woman and a white haired man sitting in the room across from Adam. She takes a deep breath and pulls the door to the small conference room open. The married couple turn their heads to her immediately and she smiles a little.

Adam licks his lips and clears the throat. "Mr. and Mrs. Maloney, this is Detective Elizabeth Rizzoli. She is going to join us."

Liz is smiling weakly and shakes the hand of the Maloney's before she is sitting down next to her husband. "I wish we wouldn't meet under these circumstances."

"I wish we wouldn't meet at all." Jasper Maloney states and frowns. "No offense, Detectives."

Liz shakes her head and is folding her hands in front of her. "None taken, Mr. Maloney. We can understand it."

Jasper nods slowly and takes the hand of his wife in his own.

Natalie Maloney closes her eyes and stifles a sob. "Yesterday night, I woke up without a warning and new that something bad had happened to our Amanda, I knew it immediately. A mother can feel that, you know."

Adam swallows hard and is leaning to the right in his chair.

Liz is blinking a couple of times and frowns. "I am very sorry for your loss, Mrs. Maloney. I can promise you that we are doing everything to arrest the person who did this to Amanda."

The older woman smiles a little and sniffles. "I know, I can see it in your eyes. In the eyes of both of you."

Adam frowns and clears his throat once again. "When have you seen Amanda the last time?"

Jasper takes a deep breath and tries to blink the unshed tears in his eyes back. "Um, two days before my wife and I left Boston. We had dinner because Amanda had to work the next evening."

"For whom has Amanda been working?"

"Evolution Promotion." Natalie answers and sniffles again.

"The concert promoter," Liz asks softly with a slight frown.

The older woman nods and squints up at the ceiling. "Yes. Since her childhood, Amanda said that she is doing a job that has to do with music. I thought that it would go away again because she was just a little girl. But then she wanted to learn an instrument and wanted to take dancing lessons, and I knew that she is going to hold on onto her dream until she could make it true. She is -" The woman stops herself and closes her eyes. "She was very passionate when it came to that dream."

Adam nods slowly and takes a deep breath. "Is that why Amanda still lived with you? Because she wanted to established herself in that business before she move out?"

Jasper furls his brows and shakes his head. "She had her own apartment in Jamaica Plain."

Liz listens attentively now. "Had?"

Natalie nods approvingly and takes a look at her husband. "Amanda had this idea to move in with her hideous boyfriend six months ago, but after three months she called us and asked if she can move in in her room again because she had nowhere she could go. We didn't need to think twice and took Amanda in again."

Liz furrows her eyebrows and gives the woman a moment. "Do you know the boyfriend's name?"

"Who doesn't," Jasper asks back and his face darkens. "Cameron McIntosh."

Adam leans a little forward and exchange a look with the brunette. "Do you know why your daughter and Mr. McIntosh separated?"

"She didn't go into detail, but Amanda said that Cameron is a self-centered idiot who wants to control everything she has been doing. Amanda always has been a independent, young woman and she hated to be controlled 24/7."

"That's what you experienced very soon." Liz state and smiles a little.

Natalie has to scoff and wipes a tear off her cheek. "No matter how many times we told Amanda not to touch anything she wasn't supposed to, she did it anyway. In the age of seven Amanda has been fascinated by the flame of a tealight and I knew that she has to take the lesson. So I said to her _Amanda, if you are touching it you are getting hurt, but if you don't believe me see it yourself, you are the one whose gonna be burned_. She touched it and never did it again."

Jasper and Adam chuckles a little.

Liz wiggles her brows with a smile. "Some people have to learn it the hard way."

"Yes." Natalie agrees with a smile. "Yes, and Amanda was one of those people." Her smile drops and she sighs. "I think Cameron McIntosh was another candle on which she got burned."

Liz turns serious as well and looks long at the devastated woman. "Amanda never told you why she broke up with Mr. McIntosh?"

Natalie sobs gut-wrenching and shakes her head. "I asked her several times but Amanda answered that it is an closed chapter that she don't want to open again. I know that Cameron must have done something to her because she closed up."

Jasper can see that there is something that the detectives doesn't told them and starts to sob bitterly.

Liz knows that the older man has an hunch what they don't tell and presses her lips together as she gets an picture of her cousin out of a folder. "I … I am sorry, but I have to ask you that. Do you recognize this man?"

Jasper wipes his eyes and takes a deep breath before he looks down at the said picture. He studies Sam's face and furls his brows. "He have been at our house for a couple of times." He says and Liz has to suppress the urge to close her eyes. "I don't think that he has to do anything with Amanda's … I don't think that he is responsible for our daughter's death."

Liz is feeling relieved as she hears that, but she doesn't show it. "What makes you think so?"

Jasper shoves the picture to his wife and she smiles a little. "He always has been nice and respectful when he showed up, and he really made Amanda laugh. I think they just started their relationship, because every time Amanda proposed to go to her room, he refused to do so."

Adam is waiting for Liz to ask the next question and gives her a sideglance as she doesn't do so. "Do you know his name?"

Liz flinch barely noticeable and swallows the lump in her throat.

Natalie takes a deep breath and shakes her head. "Sam, his name is Sam. Amanda never mentioned his last name."

"But it was an Italian surname." Jasper adds and frowns. "What does that have to do with our daughter's death? I mean, just because she has been interested in a Italian boy, it doesn't mean that he killed her."

Liz nods slowly and takes a deep breath. "We don't care about the surnames, or which origins they have. We ask those questions to make a connection with your daughter, Mr. Maloney. We are not judging your daughter by the men she has been, Sir. We want to find the person who did this to Amanda."

He buries his face in his hands and groans. "I am sorry, Detective Rizzoli. It's just like some … people like to keep to themselves. Especially in our neighborhood. Some people are really narrow-minded. We never cared about Amanda's partners as long as they treated her respectfully."

Liz smiles a little and looks briefly at her husband. "I really can understand it, Mr. Maloney, and it is a good thing that you raised your daughter that way. You can't judge a book by its cover." She says and pours him a glass of water.

He scoffs and nods with tears in his eyes. "That's what we told Amanda too. That no one should be judged by their appearance. She always saw the best in a person and wondered why some people are doing what they do. Amanda appreciated life no matter if it was a human or a animal. Once, a neighbor of us had to go to a retirement home and she couldn't take her cat with her, Mrs. Trudeau already have been over ninety. Amanda looked with big eyes at told us that we can't let it happen that Silver is taken to the animal shelter because Silver already have been nine years old. Um, Silver has been Mrs. Trudeau's cat. So, we went to the old lady and asked her if it would be okay when Amanda take care of the old cat, and Mrs. Trudeau agreed." He chuckles and shakes his head. "Silver became nineteen years old because of Amanda. She was a good girl, Detective Rizzoli. I don't want to compare a human to a animal, but for Amanda it was almost the same."

Liz smiles and places an hand on his forearm, squeezing it. "I am very, very sorry for your loss, Mr. and Mrs. Maloney."

Natalie is the one who is closing the triangle of them now and sniffles. "Thank you, Detective Rizzoli. It's just … you remind us of our own daughter, very much."

Liz frowns and tries to smile. "Thank you for coming here. You helped us very much."

Adam gets the hint and gets up from his chair. "I am going to walk you to the elevator."

The couple is doing the same and walk through the door as Adam holds it open for them.

Natalie stops abruptly and looks at him. "Can we … can we see our daughter? I mean, now."

Adam takes a deep breath and nods slowly. "Of course."

Liz is waiting until the Maloney's are out of sigh before she flops down onto her chair again and buries her face in her hands. She makes a sound between a groan and a sob and hates that she let this case get to her.


	9. Chapter 9

Liz is making her way to her car that she had parked in the parking garage before her shift had started and slows her steps when she catches a movement in the corner of her eye. Instinctively, she put her hand at her gun and licks her lips. She is aware of the fact that no person, who is not suicidal, comes in this garage and attacks a police officer, but her experience as a patrol officer has proven more than once that there are criminals out there who rather commit suicide by cop than to go back to jail.

"Whoa." Soltini laughs and hold his hands up over his head, stepping out of the shadow. "Don't shoot! It's just me, Liz. I didn't mean to scare you."

She drops her hand again and releases her breath that she has been holding. "Really? Do you wanna die? What have you been thinking?" She huffs and shakes her head. "Sneaking up at a aimed police officer like that. Can you imagine what could've happened?"

He finally chuckles and drops his hands back to his sides. "Calm down, all right. Nothing happened at all."

She huffs once more and rolls her eyes. "Easier said than done. And why the hell are you hiding in shadows?"

He drops his eyes to the floor and takes a minute. "I thought I could interest you in a drink -" He pauses with a frown. "Well, a alcoholic drink for me and a non-alcohol drink for you."

Liz is considering and shakes her head with a small smile. "Maybe another time, Steven. I am really exhausted and want to go -" She trails off as soon as Soltini steps into her personal space and back away. "What are you -" Her eyebrows are shooting up high as soon as he presses his lips to hers. For a second, she is giving in and she is wondering why, but then she places an hand on his chest and push him away from her. She is more than overwhelmed by the whole situation and doesn't know what to make out of this right now, not even caring about the hurt look of Soltini.

Finally, she is understanding why all of her friends and her family are thinking that there is something going on between her and Soltini. She doesn't know what clouded her judgment when it came to him, but right now she is scared of it.

All of a sudden, she is wondering if she has given him the wrong signs. Liz starts to shake her head and frowns deeply. "I am happily married, Steven, and it wasn't my intention to give you high hopes. And I … I really can't do this."

Soltini steps back now and it is clearly visible that he is proceeding her words. "I -" He stammers and shoves his hands into the pockets of his coat. "I thought that we have chemistry and that you … would be attracted to me too."

"Steven, I do like you as a friend and I have to apologize if I sent you the wrong signs, but the only man I have deeper feelings for is my husband, and I am absolutely not interested in a affair."

Soltini swallows hard and nods slowly, clearing his throat. "You don't have to apologize for anything, Liz. It … it was my fault. Somehow, I … got carried away. It's just … you remind me so much of my wife."

 _Seriously_ , she thinks to herself and frowns deeply. _You are hitting on me and then you compare me with_ _ **your**_ _wife_? "Another reason why we can't do this, huh?"

He avoids her eyes and is clenching his teeth. "Yeah." He simply says.

Liz licks her lips and finally unlocks her Jeep. "See you tomorrow, Steven."

"Night," he mumbles and starts to make his way to his own car, letting his head hang.

She can see that there is something wrong with him in this moment, and she makes the mental note that she is going to find out why he made such comment about his own wife, or why he is willing to cheat on the woman she never has heard about. But what worries her more right now is that she was about to give in for a single second.

She takes a deep breath and sits down behind the steering wheel, waiting until her phone made the Bluetooth connection with her car. She isn't sure if she really should call her Mom right now, because it is already late. But then she gives the command to dial the number of Maura.

" **Hello?** " Maura says as her daughter is about to end the call.

Liz is arching an brow as she starts to maneuver the Jeep through the parking garage. She can hear that Maura either must have been distracted by a magazine or a book, or had already been drifting off to sleep. "Hey, Mom. It's Liz, did I wake you?"

Maura is silent for a moment like she is thinking about her answer. " **No** , **not at all**. **We just got ready for bed** , **honey**."

Liz has to smile as she hears the amused chuckle of Jane in the background. She just got the answer. Maura had been distracted, but not by bedtime reading. "I can call tomorrow in the morning." She says and the smile is evident in her voice. She rolls her eyes as Jane's laughter grows louder and hears a swat against perhaps a arm. _I hope it was Ma's arm_.

Maura chuckles as well and clears her throat. " **Is everything alright** , **honey?** "

The younger woman takes a moment and turns onto the street. "Yes, everything is fine, Mom. I just … I have a question about Steven Soltini." There is silence and Liz thinks that she is disconnected. "Mom?"

" **I'm still here**." Maura answers and takes a deep breath. " **What do you want to know about Dr**. **Soltini**?"

"You selected him yourself, right? I mean, you nominated him for the job as Chief Medical Examiner yourself, right?"

" **Yes**. **Yes** , **I did.** "

"Did you know that he is married?" There is this silence again and she looks briefly at her phone.

" **Why are you asking that**?" Jane's voice is booming through the car and Liz is almost pulling her Jeep on the wrong side of the road. " **Where the hell are you**?"

"Jesus," the younger woman mutters and sighs in relief after she gained control over her car again. "I am driving home right now, you can not yell at me right now, Ma."

" **Why are asking if Mom knew that Soltini was married**?"

Liz raises her eyebrows high and stops at a red light. "Was?"

" **Answer my question**."

"You go fist."

There is silence again and Maura takes a deep breath. "Soltini's wife and daughter died in a car accident three years ago, that's why he asked to be assigned to Boston. He once was one of my students and knew that he is going to be perfect for the job as Chief Medical Examiner."

Now, it is Liz' part to be silent and frowns deeply. That would explain a lot of things, especially why he is so solitary. She can't imagine how it is when you whole lose your family because of a stupid carelessness. Suddenly, she feels sorry for Soltini, but that doesn't mean that she is going to sleep with him just because she pities him.

" **And why do you wanna know that**?" Jane asks now and her voice has dropped.

Liz is wiggling her brows and purses her lips. "Let's just say that Soltini mentioned that I remember him of her." She says and can hear that her parents are discussing something and rolls her eyes. She is cursing herself for calling her parents at that time of the night. She shudders at the thought that her parents are currently naked in their bed.

" **Uh-huh** ," Jane finally says and Liz can literally see the frown on her Ma's forehead. " **keep going**."

Liz takes a deep breath and shrugs to herself. "That's all."

" **Do you have feelings for him**?"

" **Jane**." Maura groans loudly.

"No, Ma." Liz says loudly in the same time. "I do not have feelings for Soltini. I just got curious after he said that." She is waiting for a moment but there comes no other comment. She takes a deep breath and looks down at her phone. "I'm going to hang up now. Night."

" **Good night** , **honey**. **And drive safely**." Maura replies and Jane is grumbling something.

"Will do." Liz says with a smile and ends the call after she bid goodbye. She chuckles and shakes her head once more.

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Adam is coming home two hours after Liz and is surprised to find the first floor in darkness. He doesn't bother himself with switching on the lights to do the completely opposite only seconds later, that's why he makes his way straight to the stairs and climbs it up. All he wants to do right now is to get upstairs flop down in his bed and sleep through until tomorrow in the morning, but the voice in the back of his mind is telling him that this is wishful thinking.

He swallows a loud groan and runs an hand over his face. He stops dead as soon as he rounds the corner and can't suppress the amused grunt as soon as he sees his half sitting wife, who is definitely anything else but awake. Liz seems like she has fallen asleep while she was trying to find **the answer** in one of Jane's notebooks.

He gather them carefully and put them in a neat stack on her nightstand. Then, he tugs carefully in a laying position and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear as she sighs heavily.

Liz turns her head a little and cracks her eyes open. "I was trying to wait up for you." She murmurs.

He tuck the sheet up under her chin and runs an hand over Liz' shoulder. "Then I'm glad that it got late and that you couldn't keep your eyes open. You need that sleep."

"I know, Mom." She replies sleepily but cocky and smiles as he chuckles. She traces his jaw with her fingertips and frowns. "You look great exhausted as well."

He scoffs and hunch his shoulders. "I can sleep after we solved this case. All that matters right now is that we prove that Sam's innocent."

"Thank you." Liz whispers with a frown.

Adam shakes his head slightly. "For what?"

"For doing this for Sam."

"I am just doing my job, Liz. And maybe all of us are doing a little more, because we all know that Sam couldn't harm a fly. I mean, he starts to gag when he is supposed to eat a grilled trout. Especially when it still _looks_ at him."

Liz smiles broadly and takes a deep breath as she let her eyes roam over his tired face, but somehow she still can see the sincerity in his eyes and furrows her brows, and that he really cares about her and her family. And that he would do anything for her and their unborn child.

And all of a sudden she knows what her parents are having, this unconditional love for each other. That kind that will last, no matter how hard time is gonna be. She takes a deep breath and interlace their fingers. "I love you."

Adam smiles softly and gives her a peck. "I am gonna take a shower now. Go back to sleep."

Liz rolls her eyes and smiles broadly. She knows that she doesn't need to worry just because he didn't say it back, because there are times when they are emotionally so drained that they can't or won't say it a day or two. The feeling is always mutual. She switch off her bedside lamp and makes herself comfortable on her side of the bed, smiling a little.

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The next morning, Liz is sitting at her desk and frowns deeply because the BRIC analyst has found as much as she did before, by now. She had the feeling that they are missing something very important, something that could crack the case.

Leslie is flopping down on the chair that is standing next to her friend's desk, holding up a file. "I have been doing some researches on Cameron McIntosh's dear daddy. Nicholas McIntosh. I found pretty interesting stuff." She tilts her head to the side as the brunette looks dumbfounded at her. "Chaz is good at digging in other people's lives, but I am better."

Liz is arching an brow and takes the folder from Leslie's hand, flipping it open. "I hope you have been digging on the legal way."

The redhead is rolling her eyes and smiles wryly. "Thank you for doing this for us in your spare time, Leslie. I owe you one, Leslie. You've been a big help, Leslie." She pauses and hunch her shoulders. "No, problem, Liz. You're more than welcome."

The brunette splutter and furrows her eyebrows. "Thank you, Leslie."

Leslie bows her head with a smirk and crosses her legs. "I have to say that Nicholas McIntosh and his company do work with really shady business partners."

"Nicholas McIntosh is the CEO of an import and export corporation." Liz mumbles more to herself and shrugs. "Doesn't really surprise me that he has shady contacts."

"At this point it gets tricky." Leslie says and turns the page. "Nicholas McIntosh also knows several mover and shaker."

Liz let her eyes wander over the names and groans, dropping the file to her desk. "You mean at this point it's getting dirty and nearly impossible. No wonder Cameron thinks that he is unimpeachable." She gets her phone in her hand and starts to write a message.

Leslie is silent for a moment. "What cha doin'?"

The brunette starts to smirk and wiggle her eyebrows. "I also know one or two mover and shaker."

Leslie is scrutinizing her friends face and drops her chin to her chest, chuckling throaty. She knows exactly what that means. "Hey, um, can I be a part in this investigation?"

Liz looks up and frowns. "If you are needed nowhere else and Adam gives his okay, I see no problem in it." She tucks in her chin as she sees the skeptical look of her friend. "What?"

The redhead is grinning and leans closer. "Don't play dumb, Liz. Everyone in this building knows who actually is leading this investigation."

"I don't know what you are talking about. Laverty is the senior detective." Liz replies with a smirk.

Leslie splutter and swats her friends arm. "Come on, you know that I can use the practice, Liz. Becoming pregnant before I had the chance to promote threw me back a couple of years. Give me the same chance like you are giving Chaz."

Liz sighs heavily and leans back in her chair. She knows that a pair of fresh eyes are always helpful and that Leslie deserves the same chance like Chaz. If she is honest to herself, she wouldn't be here when Jane and Frankie hadn't granted her the same chance as well. She takes a deep breath and nods slowly. "All right, you can help us, **but** ask Adam too. So he has the feeling that he is in control."

The redhead arches an eyebrow with a smile. "Don't you think who is in control for real?"

Liz rolls her eyes and hunch her shoulders. "Then do it for the sake of brass."

Leslie nods and is tapping the tip of her nose. "Chain of command, got it."

Liz smiles broadly and nods.

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Adam is a little bit confused as he makes his way to the break room because all of a sudden Jane and Maura came by and offered their help in this case officially and then Leslie told him that Liz said it would be okay when she's helping them as well. He closes the door when he sees his wife standing in front of the fridge and furls his brows. He becomes even more suspicious when she jumps. "Are you the leading detective in this case now?"

Liz doesn't turn around and shakes her head. "No." She mumbles back. "As far as I know that's you."

He nods too and crosses his arms over his chest. "And why are your parents here and tell me that they are helping us out in the case, just like Leslie, and I don't know about it?"

Liz finally spins around with furrowed brows and swallows the food in her mouth. "Because Leslie and my parents are able to crack the case, Adam. Leslie took a closer look at Nicholas McIntosh and we can use any help to bring him and the scumbag of his son down, that's why I asked my parents to come in. We're really gonna need their help because this gonna be really tough."

Adam is staring at the sandwich in her hand and frowns. "Is that my pastrami sandwich that you are eating," he asks with an high-pitched voice.

She looks down at her hands and licks her lips. "Nope."

"God, woman." He groans and put his head back in his neck. "You're gonna be the death of me."

"The name Laverty was written on it."

"Your name is Rizzoli-Isles." He replies a little louder, but not that loud that others could think that they are fighting.

Liz smirks, walks up to him and tugs at his tie. She can see the hesitation in his eyes and rolls her own. "Well, technically I am a Laverty as well."

"Liz." Adam replies but steps into her personal space.

"Relax, Adam. We are alone, we are married and I, sure as hell, didn't get myself pregnant."

He sighs loudly and finally bends his head down.

Liz closes the last gap and smiles a little as he kiss her back. She steps back and wiggles her brows .

Adam nods slowly and inhales deeply. "And what are we doing with Chaz now?"

Liz shrugs and head out of the break room. "Chaz wants to be in BRIC anyway, and Leslie wants to be in Homicide. Let Chaz run the information we are giving him and get used to the tasks of that unit, and we two induct Leslie into our job."

He follows her and nods approvingly. "Sometimes I forget that my wife is the daughter of two of the brightest women in town."

"Don't let them hear that."

He chuckles and enters the bullpen.


	10. Chapter 10

Jane let her eyes roam over the list of names and her eyebrows are perked up high. "I can see why you are asking us for help. These are really top-class names on this list. Even I would be a little intimidated by them if I would be in your place."

Liz is rolling her head in her neck and sighs loudly. "This isn't exactly the help I was looking for, Ma."

Jane furls her brows and licks her lips. "I know, but this is a really big case, Liz. All of you can get burned badly."

Adam frowns deeply and looks at Maura, Jane, Leslie and then at his wife.

Liz starts to wring her hands and turns the corners of her mouth downward. "So, we're gonna drop the case and let get Cameron McIntosh get away with the murder of Amanda Maloney just because his father is a mover and shaker?"

The older woman shakes her head and hunch her shoulders. "I'm just saying that this is gonna be a tough road, and that you'll run against a walls and make a lot of new enemies."

"I am not doing this job to make new friends." Liz replies unimpressed and Maura scoffs amused. She arches an eyebrow and her Ma rolls her eyes.

Maura smiles broadly and shakes her head. She already had this discussion more than once, ages ago and with her wife. "I am in contact with some of those people on the list. I am going to ask if they are interested in a cup of coffee with **me** , but it's gonna take a while."

Adam leans back in his chair and nods approvingly. "That sounds like a plan to me. We have to be careful, though. If those guys get suspicious they built up a wall of silence."

Jane is taking a swig of her coffee and starts to smirk. "Startling some of those guys isn't always so bad. I'll talk to those I already know so they do know that BPD isn't fooling around this time. I love to shake up people."

"Still," Leslie asks with a knowing smile and ducks her head when Jane is scowling at her.

Liz and Maura chuckles amused and Leslie is joining them.

"Detective Laverty," says a officer as he sticks his head into the bullpen and Adam thrusts his chin at the man. "There is a woman who wants to talk to you, said it would have to do with Amanda Maloney's murder."

Adam furls his brows now. "What's her name?"

"Marissa Dawson. She said she would be Maloney's best friend and that she has some important information about the girl's death."

Adam straightens up in his chair and glance at Leslie and his wife. "You girls wanna take care of it?"

Liz is about to put the holster and her gun into the top drawer of her desk and arches an brow as soon the words hit her ear, turning her head slightly.

Maura press her lips together to hide her smile and finds the floor very, **very** interesting.

Jane has an amused grin on her face and waits for the outburst that doesn't come, but she is sure that he is going to regret this sentence.

"Probably shouldn't have said girls." Adam groans and rubs his face with both of his hands.

"Probably not." Jane agrees and burst out laughing, and Maura laughs as well.

He rolls his eyes and groans once more.

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After Liz has Leslie told what and what not to say or do, they are sitting at the metal table across from a woman in the age of twenty-nine. She has an olive complexion, straight light brown hair left uncut, a green eyes.

Liz licks her lips and opens her notepad. "Ms. Dawson, my name is Detective Elizabeth Rizzoli-Isles, and this is Offic -"

"I was asking for Detective Laverty." Marissa cuts her off and her eyes are hard.

Liz has to bite back her snippy comment and forces herself to smile. "Detective Laverty is busy right now. He asked Officer Montoya and me to take your statement. But you can sit here and wait all day for him."

Marissa takes a deep breath and shakes her head. "It'll be fine when I tell you what I know … I guess."

Liz smiles tightly and wiggles her brows. "All right. You said to the desk officer that you are Amanda's best friend."

"I am … I mean, I was." The other woman says and swallows hard. "I have been with her and our friend Sam the whole evening. He had been drinking a little too much and asked her if she could loan him money for a cab, because it seems like his wallet had been stolen or he lost it, I don't know. Amanda said that she was about to go anyway and that she can give him a ride and he accepted it."

"Did you have the feeling that something is going to happen that evening? Has Sam been aggressive or invasive?"

Marissa snorts and wipes her nose with the back of her hand. "Sam, invasive? He is a really sweet guy and he always treated Amanda with respect. You didn't need to be a rocket scientist to know that he had a crush on her. If I would have the feeling that Amanda wouldn't be in good hands, I wouldn't have her leave with Sam. I am one hundred percent sure that he'd never hurt her."

Liz nods slowly and writes the statement down. This is confirming what she already knows about her cousin, he's just another Rizzoli. Which means hard shell, soft core.

Leslie clears her throat and frowns. "Can you think of anyone who wanted to hurt Amanda," she asks and prepares herself for getting a slap on her wrist.

Marissa scoffs and wiggles her brows. "I can think of one person that would be able to kill her just because she was the one who left the relationship."

Liz looks up and takes a second. "You are talking about Cameron McIntosh?"

Marissa nods slowly. "Yes, and if he finds out that I've talked to you, I am the next one who ends up dead."

Liz head snaps up and she furls her eyebrows. "What makes you think so?"

"No one is going to cheat on Cameron McIntosh, Detective Rizzoli. Neither his friends nor girlfriends."

"So, you're his current girlfriend?"

Marissa splutter and shakes his head. "I am not attractive enough to make it on his **list**. And I am not sad about it. Let's just say, you are talking to a living dead."

"We can take you into protective custody." Leslie suggests and looks with big eyes at her own friend.

Marissa smiles sadly and wipes a single tear off her cheek. "I appreciate your offer, Officer Montoya, but it's useless. I am dropping the dime on him and sign my own death warrant with that. I mean, Cam and I never were close, but I know that he is the reason of Amanda's death."

Liz licks her lips and frowns. "We can put you into WitSec cause you can are a state witnesses, Marissa."

"He would get rid of me before he sees a court room from the inside for the first time, Detective. He has his ways.

"So do we." The younger woman almost growls and sees a glimmer of hope in Marissa's eyes for the first time. "How exactly is Cameron earning his money?"

Marissa shrugs and takes a deep breath. "Drugs, prostitution, gambling, smuggling. Everything you wish for."

Liz mind is going a million miles per hour and looks at Leslie with furled eyebrows. "How the hell is he able to lay low and sing small when he is such a big fish?" She mumbles under her breath and the redhead hunch her shoulders.

"Oh, he has his ways, Detective." Melissa answers the barely audible question and chuckles humorlessly. "He has connections in BPD, DA's office. He's taking over his father's business."

"Nicholas McIntosh is a CEO of a import and export corporation."

"Yeah, that's how they call it."

Leslie's mouth is slightly open and she looks at her friend with a deep frown.

Liz let the new information in and her mouth went bone-dry. She already had the feeling that this case is going to be the biggest the new investigation team had worked on, but this turn even troubles her. "It sounds to me like the McIntosh's are building up a new mob."

Marissa drops her eyes to the table and is silent for a moment. "They are indeed. I mean, since a couple of mob bosses went down over the years it is a appealing market. Someone needs to run Boston."

Leslie eyes the woman on the other side of the table. "You said you are not close to Cameron. How do you know about all of this?"

Marissa shrugs and takes a deep breath. "One evening, Amanda and I spend a night at her home and had boozy evening and she spilled her guts to me. Even in my drunken state I knew that she is in danger and I told her to leave Cameron. I didn't know that my advice would be deadly."

"Do you know the name of Cameron's new girlfriend," Leslie asks but Marissa shakes her head.

Liz takes a deep breath and licks her lips. "We are doing anything to keep you safe, Marissa." She says and places an hand on the older woman's forearm. "I promise."

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Jane is pacing up and down in her daughter's living room and has her arms crossed over her chest. "Adam, you should pull Liz off the case."

Adam is bracing himself at the kitchen island and drops his chin to his chest, and Maura is rolling her eyes.

Liz' head is snapping up and she furls her eyebrows. "That's something that he is not doing to do."

"That's something you don't have to decide." Jane replies and stops pacing as soon as her daughter gets up from the couch.

"He doesn't have to decide that either," the younger woman shoots back.

Jane huffs and shifts her weight from one foot to the other. "Then I am going to talk to Novak."

"Jane." Maura says warningly and gives her the same look. That's exactly why she never been really thrilled about the choice of profession of their daughter. Her wife might had supported it in the beginning, but Maura knew that Jane would be overprotective at some point. And it seems like they have reached exactly that point.

"What?" Jane barks loud.

"I am a big girl, Ma." Liz says as loud as Jane and places her hands on her hips. "I can take care of myself, and you are **not** going to talk to Novak. I am not going to back down just because there are wannabe mobster out there."

Jane snorts sarcastically and lowers her brows. "Obviously, you have absolutely no idea what you are talking, kid."

Adam shakes his head and decides to keep his mouth shut right now. He knows all too well that he has no say in this anyway. He can understand Jane's worries, though.

Maura takes her wine glass from the counter and takes a deep . "Jane, stop it."

"No, I don't stop." Jane growls and her eyes are never leaving her daughter's. "Because Elizabeth don't know what she is getting herself into."

"And you know it?" Liz yells suddenly and very angry.

"Yes, your mother and I know exactly what it means to dog mobsters. And more than once we had targets on our backs because we did so." Jane yells back and steps closer to Liz. "People like Nicholas and Cameron McIntosh don't bother to hurt or kill women, which means that they won't hesitate to hurt or kill pregnant women, Elizabeth. It means that they don't care about it and that they don't have a bad feeling of doing so, they are down-and-dirty."

Liz let the words sink in and then she points at herself. "So, this is it about? The pregnancy?"

Jane furrows her brows but doesn't answer the question of Liz.

The younger woman's face is turning hard and she points down at the floor to make her decision more than clear. "I am not going to back out of this investigation just because I am pregnant, and you are not going to change my mind. They want to make it personal? Well, they succeeded."

Jane is keeping the eye contact and can see Liz' grim determination in them. "You are about to set loose a war."

"So it be." Liz growls through gritted teeth. "I do not allow that they get away with it, Ma. Mom and you always taught me to stand up for those who can't fight for themselves, and that's why I am doing right now. I am standing up for all the Amanda Maloney's out there and I am fighting for their right, and I am not giving up just because a Cameron McIntosh is thinking that he has enough power so he is unimpeachable. He is not unimpeachable, and I am going to show him."

Jane is clenching her own teeth and is briefly looking at Maura. She seems like she is looking for help from her wife. "We may raised you … No, we did raise you that way, but I am sure that we didn't taught you to get killed just because a scumbag like one of the McIntosh's pricked your pride, Liz."

The younger woman huffs and crosses her arms with a roll of her eyes. "Pride is not my motivation."

Jane let her head hang and shakes it. "I hope not, because that was the downfall of a lot good cops, kid. I don't want to put you name on that list too."

"Thank you for your trust," the younger woman grumbles and licks her lips.

It is Maura's clue to step in. "It has nothing to do with trust, Elizabeth, or that we are doubting that you and Adam are capable to arrest the McIntosh family. We know that you are more than capable of doing so." She turns her head to look at Adam and her next words are more directed at him, "Jane and I know exactly what we are talking about, we did been this more than once. And if you decide to take this way, it's gonna be long and perhaps painful. People that the two of you are caring about can get hurt, and you don not put only your lives at risk. Family and friends can get a target as well, just to humiliate you. If you are making this step you have to stand one hundred percent behind your decision and you have to make provision for the case that they are trying to get under your skin, take a long view, let everyone who is working with you in on that."

Adam is nodding slowly and looks long at his wife. On the quiet, he is hoping that she is changing her mind and leave the case for a little while, but he also knows that it is just wishful thinking. He downs his beer and takes a deep breath.

He clears his throat and wiggles his brows. "Jane, do you wanna have a new beer?"

Jane let her eyes rest on her daughter and takes a deep breath too. "Yes, please." She says and is about to pass Liz. She stops abruptly and kisses the side of Liz' head. "I love you, Liz."

Liz takes a second and smiles weakly. "I love you too, Ma."


	11. Chapter 11

**Just a little warning about this chapter! It maybe contain a little bit M, really just a bit. But there are no details.**

 **And thanks for the support.**

 **Enjoy,**

 **T73.**

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Liz is entering the bullpen after her husband the next morning and she can tell that he doesn't agree with her that she doesn't want to stop the investigation because they barely had spoken the previous night and the whole morning. It seems like he had locked himself up in his own world of thoughts. She is eyeing him as he sits down at his chair and worries her bottom lip.

Chaz is coming with a stack of files in the bullpen too and slows his steps as soon as he senses the tension. Everything's okay?"

She looks at him and forces herself to smile at him as she sits down at her desk too. "Yeah, what do you have there?"

"I had an idea after you went home yesterday and stayed a little longer." He says and hands her the stack. "After you mentioned that Nicholas McIntosh perhaps is running a mob I thought I could take a look in ViCAP and see if there already had been murders with the same MO, or at least similar MOs."

Liz is about to open the file on top and stops dead. "Are you kidding me?"

Adam furls his brows and sits up.

Chaz shakes his head and shifts his weight from one foot to the other. "I totally serious, Liz. The first murder with exact our MO took place twenty-five years ago."

"Cameron was three back then." Adam states and looks at Liz and Chaz. "It's hard to imagine that a three-year old stabs a grown woman in the heart and rape her while she's bleeding to death."

She starts to rub her neck and frowns. "No, that's impossible and we all know that." She replies and chews on the inside of her cheek. "No, those murders are on Nicholas McIntosh. Cameron adopted the MO of his lovely father."

Leslie comes in a good mood into the bullpen as well and frowns as soon she sees the faces of the others. "Um, hey."

Liz only nods at her and then she starts to write down something on her notepad.

The redhead furls her brows and looks at the two men. "What is going on?"

Chaz points at the files and sighs heavily. "The case is a little bigger than we thought. I took a look in ViCAP and found twenty-five year old murders with the same MO."

Leslie's shoulders are slumping and she makes a face. "Damn it." She pauses and looks long at him. "Is that the reason why you didn't come home last night?"

Liz eyes shoot up to Adam's and she stops to write for a second.

Chaz clears his throat and frowns deeply. "Yes."

Liz splutter and tears the sheet out of the notepad, handing it to her friend. "Can you go down to Soltini and ask him for the autopsy reports of those names and who performed the autopsies, please?"

The redhead nods slowly and turns the corners of her mouth downward. "Sure." She says and turns on her heels.

Adam leans back in his chair and eyes skeptically his wife. "And why are you not going down to Soltini?"

Liz stops dead in her tracks and tries to come up with a good excuse. She isn't quite sure why she hasn't told Adam that Soltini kissed her in the parking garage and that she told him that she is not interested in Soltini. And she is feeling really bad about it because she never wanted to have any secrets from him. She licks her lips and hunch her shoulders. "Leslie wants to help as well." She doesn't wait for any comment and points at Chaz. "Go and see if Nicholas McIntosh does have a criminal record and if yes, what kind of crimes he committed. And what kind of people are working for him, check their background. I want to know everything about him and want to be prepared for everything."

Chaz nods approvingly and walks back in the direction of BRIC. "You got it."

Liz looks long at her husband and narrows her eyes. "Can do a bit of ringing I around and find out who investigated these cases?"

Adam raises his brows high but smiles a little. "You do know that I am the senior detective, right?"

Liz smirks and starts to type on her keyboard. "You never complained when I took over control."

Adam is freezing and arches an brow as she starts to chuckle amused.

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"Soltini said that it is going to take a couple of hours until he got all the autopsy reports that you requested, when he doesn't get disturbed." Leslie says as she walks with her friend to Liz' unmarked car. "In the worst case, he needs a couple of days."

"Let's hope that there will be no worst case, then." Liz says with a small smile and blinks a couple of times against the sun. She slows her steps and turns her head to look at her friend. "Listen, this is going to be a dicey case, and most likely highly dangerous. Adam and I are aware in what we are getting ourselves into, we are about to try brining down a powerful mob and we just get an conclusion of what the McIntosh's are capable of. And we know that we are making ourselves a target because of our interference in their business."

Leslie is listening carefully and furls her brows. "Why are you saying this to me, Liz?"

The brunette is licking her lips and takes a deep breath. "Because you have to think about Damian, and because I could never forgive myself if anything happens to one of you guys. You have to be aware that you and Chaz are becoming a target too if you are a part in all of this."

Leslie is slowing her steps and frowns. "Liz, Chaz and I are always a target as soon as we put these uniforms on and go out on patrol, it is not new to us. Are we more careful now? Sure we are, but there is only a number of precautions we can make. We also now what we are getting ourselves into. And someone has to look out after you guys too."

Liz smiles now but turns serious instantly as soon as she spots a man sitting on the hood of her unmarked. Somehow, she can imagine who this guy is because she can tell that he doesn't belong in a neighborhood like this. She scoffs and unlock the car from the distance.

"You know who this is," Leslie asks and frowns.

"I do have an idea," the brunette growls low.

He turns his head in the direction of the two women and doesn't make the attempt to move off the hood.

Cameron McIntosh has a pale complexion, curly brown hair cut short , and green eyes. He is very tall, of average weight, and wears a tailored dark blue suit. He smiles broadly at her and eyes Liz unashamed. "You have to be Detective Rizzoli."

Liz is keeping a straight face and takes a deep breath. "It's nice to finally meet you in person, Cameron." She says and Leslie is giving her a sideglance.

He chuckles and pretend to brush dirt of his hands. "I didn't know that we are on first-name basis with each other already." He states and slides down the hood as she wiggles her brows unimpressed. "Why are you checking the background of my family and its business?"

Liz doesn't flinch or back down as he steps closer. "I think you already know the answer. I, on the other hand, would like to know how you got this information."

"I have my connections." Cameron replies and shrugs, smiling cockily.

She nods once and smiles as well. "Hmm."

He tries to read her expression and stuff his hands in the pocket of his pants. "I don't know why you are going after me and my family … Detective."

Liz is holding his gaze and turns serious once again. "I think you exactly know why we are going after you. Has to do with the death of Amanda Maloney and all the other bodies who are coming up again."

Cameron's smile is falling and all of a sudden he appears even taller. "If I'd be in your shoes, I'd stop before it's too late."

"Or what? I'll disappear as well," she asks and can tell that the answer is yes.

His facial muscles are twitching and he clench his teeth. "Be careful, you don't know who I am."

"I know exactly who you are." Liz says warningly as he steps into her personal space and flick the back of her middle finger against the lapel of his jacket, never losing eye contact. "You are a little, spoiled snotty brat who never really had to work for anything. I am a little surprised that daddy's gonna leave the business to you, because you aren't really the brightest light on the cake."

"I would watch my mouth." He growls low.

Liz doesn't even blink as he comes more closer. "And I, on the other hand, would step back."

He seems to be a little impressed and his eyes drops to her hand that is placed on her gun. He steps back and chuckles. "Watch your back, Rizzoli."

Liz snorts and arches an brow. "I was about to give you the same advice." She replies as he turns to leave.

Leslie takes a moment until he is out of earshot and blinks a couple of times. "And what are we doing now? I mean, he impossibly could know that we are about to talk to him."

Liz is looking after Cameron and shakes her head. "No. No, he didn't know that, Leslie. He was trying to be one step ahead of us, without knowing that we are now ahead of him. Now we sit tight, he's rattled and will make a mistake."

Leslie is rounding the car and smirks. "I am glad that I don't play cards with you anymore."

The brunette chuckles and opens the driver's door. "Because you suck at it?"

"Yeah, that too." Leslie laughs and sits down on the passenger's seat. "Where are we going now?"

"Let's see where two hours are taking us." Liz answers with a shrug and starts the engine.

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Adam groans loudly and slams the receiver down on his desk phone like he wants to beat the shot out of it. He feels like he tread water and it is frustrating him immensely.

"You know, when you wanna blow off steam we do have a gym for that." He hears the voice of his wife saying and turns his head. He frowns when he sees her with a brown paper bag coming towards her and sighs. "I probably should be workout any time soon, or I have to pay for a new phone."

"I heard that the heavy bag is a great sparring partner." Liz says and places the bag on her desk.

He nods once and runs his hands through his hair. "New evidence?"

"Lunch," she answers and scrunches her nose with a smile.

Adam closes his eyes for a second and splutter. "Did you and Leslie had any luck with Cameron?"

She passes the said bag to her husband and smirks. "For you."

He takes a look in it and his eyebrows shoot up. "Well, I love you even more, but it doesn't answer my question."

"He ambushed us when we were about to drive to him, thought he could humiliate us with his presence." Liz answers and flops down on her chair. "Didn't expect that I front him."

"Liz." Adam groans again.

"What? I needed to run rings around him, Adam."

He sighs heavily and rubs his forehead with his right hand.

Liz is watching him closely and can tell that something is wrong with Adam because he is a tad too pale for her taste. "You okay?"

Adam nods slowly and frowns slightly. "I'm fine."

"Uh-huh."

"Really."

"Adam."

He rolls his eyes and stifles a yawn. "I am just really tired."

"For how long haven't you been sleeping for real," Liz asks and furrows her brows.

He doesn't answer right away and shrugs. "I don't know. Three days, maybe four."

She looks questioningly at him and shakes her head. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"Wouldn't have changed anything anyway." Adam sighs and keeps her gaze. He isn't sure why he didn't find any rest the last couple of days either. But he is sure that the current situation doesn't make it any better.

"Oh," she whispers worriedly. "Adam."

She nods with a deep frown.

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Liz is laying in the bed beside her husband and has propped herself up on her elbow. She has the feeling that he aged for ten years in the last couple of days and tries to smooth the deep worry lines on his forehead with her fingers. She sighs loudly because he hasn't blinked for what feels like hours. "Close your eyes and rest." She whispers and let her fingers trail down his face.

Adam turns his head and clench his teeth. "Don't look so worried, Elizabeth."

She smiles a little and shrugs. "It's my job to worry about you."

He smiles back at her and interlace their fingers. "It's just a little bad patch."

"Still," the brunette states and gives him a peck. She doesn't move away for real and keeps his gaze before her eyes drop back to his lips. She swallows hard and looks back up into his eye.

Somehow, he can see that there is something she wants to tell him, but doesn't know how, and he isn't sure if he wanna hear it tonight or any time soon. But he still want to know what it is his wife is keeping from him. "What," he asks in a whisper.

Liz shakes her head and smiles a little while her hand roams over his bare chest. "I love you, Adam. From the bottom of my heart."

Adam smiles back at her and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "I love you too, Liz." He looks puzzled at her as she straddle his hips all of a sudden and frowns again. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like that I am doing?" Liz asks back with a mischievous smile and pulls her shirt over her head.

Adam needs a second before his brain can come up with an answer and pulls her body back down against his.

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Liz is the first who wakes up the next morning and smiles as she hears the even heartbeat and the even breathing of Adam. She had woken up in many pair of arms before she settled for him and none of them had felt like home, not like his.

She let her fingertips run over his collarbone and smiles when he makes a grunting sound. She blames it on the pregnancy that she still notice the small things that makes her fall for him all over again. She smiles as he pulls her even closer, but then she looks up as his body starts to tense up.

"Liz." Adam whispers and shudders.

Liz skids up and can see his eyes moving behind his lids and the frown on his forehead. "I am here." She whispers and caresses his cheek with her hand.

"Liz." He whispers again and his voice cracks now. "Elizabeth."

"Adam, I'm here." She tries to sooth him.

Adam's eyes shoot open and she can see that they are still troubled and unfocused, and that he's still in the middle of whatever he has been dreaming. She buries her face in the crook of his neck as soon as he holds her as close as possible to him. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

"Sssh," she whispers and closes her eyes. "It's okay, it was just a dream." Liz furrows her brows and her heart drops when his body starts to shake. She looks up and can see that her husband has tears in his eyes. She props herself up on her left elbow so she can look directly at Adam. "Adam look at me." She says gently and Adam's eyes find her. "Look at me, look at me. It was just a dream, I am fine."

Blue eyes become focused now and he frowns deeply once more. "Liz."

She smiles reassuringly and nods. "Yes. Yes, I am here. I am fine, we are fine."

Adam closes his eyes now and releases his breath. "It was just a dream."

Liz places an hand over his racing heart and furrows her brows. "What was the dream about?"

He shakes his head and huffs. "Nothing."

"Adam."

"It's stupid."

She kisses him lovingly. "Doesn't matter."

Adam takes a deep breath and holds Liz close to him. "It's … I lose you, on one way or the other. But you always end up on a autopsy table. And I am not able to save you. Or our child, our daughter."

Liz is looking long at him and knows that she could cry right now too, which wouldn't be very helpful. "When did those dreams start?"

"I already told you, a couple of days ago." He answers and takes a deep breath. "But I woke up before they became realistic and got out of bed without waking you."

"You should have told me."

"So I am the big crybaby?"

Liz looks up and frowns. "Telling worries and sharing fears doesn't make you a crybaby."

He huffs and rolls his eyes. "When I would be a woman."

She put her chin on his chest and looks up with a frown. "Because you are the tall and strong protector? Allowing emotions isn't a weakness."

"When … I am a woman."

Liz is scrutinizing her husband's face to see if he's joking, but all she can see is determination. "Why are you saying this. You never had a … Do you say it because of your nightmares?" She waits and he clench his teeth. "They are just dreams, Adam."

"Liz, I couldn't protect you." Adam snarls and his face darkens.

"In nightmares." She replies and furrows her brows. "In real life you protect me every day, save my life. All right, you don't jump into the line of fire and take a bullet for me one day after the other, but I know you would do it in the blink of an eye. Yes, sometimes you are big softie but that's okay, that's why I love you. I don't need a macho, Adam, I want to come home to someone who takes me in his arms and share his feeling with me. Those things made me fall in love with you."

Adam frowns and scratch his chin. "Well, to be honest you never really said that you were falling in love with me or that you are falling for me."

"Oh yeah, I did." She replies with a small smile.

He scoffs and tucks an hand behind his head. "Correct me if I remember wrong. After we started to have sex, you showed up one evening, knocked at my door and kissed me like there is no tomorrow. And then you turned around and simply said **Okay** , leaving me standing dumbfounded at my apartment door."

"Yap," she agrees with a smirk.

"And after we had sex for the first time, when you tried to sneak out of my apartment, you said that I was a all right lover." He says and the look in his eyes has changed as he rolls her on her back and hovers over her.

Liz swallows hard and has to force herself to hold his gaze. "The first time was all right."

"It wasn't nails-digging-back-scratching-toes-curling sex?" Adam almost growls.

Her breath hitch and she blinks a couple of times. "Did you record our first time?"

He chuckles and shakes his head. "Before I met you and been with you for the first time, I had the opportunity to get experience too." He let his hand wander over her bare thigh like he did in their first night together and she shudders. "And that is the reaction I got at our first time as well."

Liz bites her bottom lip as his hand trails up her side and has to fight to keep her eyes open. She remembers that night too and her body is on fire. "Adam," she whispers and hates herself for sounding as desperate as at the night they slept with each other for the first time. She wants to wipe the smug smile off his face and frowns when he starts to go down at her body. "Oh God," she breathes and her eyes roll in the back of her head. She gasps and is arching her back as soon as he reached his final destination. "Oh God." She groans now and buries her hands in the sheets, and her brain went blank.


	12. Chapter 12

Liz standing behind the counter and can't help the broad smile on her lips as soon as she feels a pair of hands on her every day growing belly.

"You still grow big, it doesn't fell out." Adam whispers and steps back as soon as he sees her skeptical glance.

"Is that sentence supposed to make any sense?" Liz asks and hunch her shoulders. "Did our child jump into your face?"

Adam clears is throat. "No."

"Did you feel the need to shove it back into my uterus?"

He lowers his chin now. "No."

"Everything in that sentence is anatomically incorr -" She stars and smiles when she get silenced by a kiss.

"All right." Adam says with a smile and cups his wife's faces with his hands. "You know that I cherish both of your moms, but before you turn totally into Maura-mode now. I love you."

She smirks and runs her hands over his bare shoulders. "I love you too." Since she became aware of the fact that she is obviously pregnant, she stopped to run around in sports bras and too tight tops in the morning. But she never minded that Adam is running around in only shorts in the house and garden. On the contrary, she still enjoy that view.

Her eyebrows shoot up high as soon as a key is turning in the lock of the front door and that Adam is trying to hide behind her. She looks over her shoulder and quirk an eyebrow. "Big, now I get it."

His shoulders slump and he groans.

Jane comes into the kitchen and stops dead. "Hey, hi! We called both of you, twice, but either of you answered the phone." She says with an high-pitched voice as she sees her half-naked son-in-law.

Liz rolls her eyes and smiles broadly. "It's not like you are seeing Adam only in shorts for the first time, Ma."

"I usually kept my focus on his face." Jane replies and frowns. "You do workout a lot, don't you?"

Adam smirks amused and hunch his shoulders. "Not recently."

"Are you serious?"

Maura rolls her eyes as well and smiles broadly. "Good morning."

Liz chuckles and shakes her head. "Good morning. You really called?"

The graying blonde nods and takes a deep breath. "Yes, and we got called by Leslie because she couldn't get in touch with you either."

Adam clears his throat. "We have been … busy."

Jane makes a face and walks to the coffeemaker. She furls her brows as soon as she hears a soft knock at the front door. "Are you expecting someone?"

Liz face is straight as she walks up to the door and shrugs. "An old friend of Adam, they went to high school together. We were planning on having a threesome. That's what we do every Saturday morning."

Adam chokes on his coffee a hides his amused grin behind his mug, and Maura is pressing her lips together so she don't burst out laughing.

Jane's face turns blank and she blinks a couple of times. It doesn't happen often that she is at a loss of words, but right now she doesn't know what to shoot back.

Liz can't help the fit of laughter as she catch the look of her Ma and opens the door. She waves the new visitor into the house and clears her throat. "Come on in." She laughs and steps to the side.

A very confused Danielle enters the house and looks in surprise at her godparents and Adam. "Good morning." She says a little taken aback and frowns. "I was expecting the two of you here too."

Maura is the first who reacts and engulfs Frost's daughter in a hug. "Good morning, Dani. We didn't know you join us this morning."

"Me neither." Adam says a little confused and his eyes finds those of his wife.

Jane hugs her goddaughter as well and frowns as she sees the face of Liz. She can tell that this isn't just a friendly visit of Danielle.

Liz licks her lips and wiggles her brows. "I called Dani when you have been under the shower, with our landline." She says and Adam nods slowly.

Danielle nods approvingly and shrugs. "I was a little confused because I didn't know that our generation still use these old-fashioned things."

"Blame us." Maura pipes up and smiles widely.

Liz scoffs and takes a deep breath. "I hope that none of you mind when Dani and I don't join you for breakfast."

Adam eyes her skeptically and shakes his head. He don't mind to spend some time alone with his parents-in-law, never did. But something is telling him that the two younger women are going to share old memories when they are alone, but he also know that it would be in vain to remind his wife that she can't talk about a ongoing case with the defender of her cousin.

"Of course not." Maura's voice is breaking the silence and Jane is pouring the two a cup of coffee, one real and one decaf.

Liz rolls her eyes and gets the two mugs. "Thank you." She looks at her old friend and thrusts her chin at the stairway. "Follow me, Dani."

Danielle nods a little unsure and follows the brunette hot on her heels. She enters a room she didn't know that exist and frowns a little. "Didn't know Adam and you have a study." She states and smiles at her friend.

Liz smiles broadly and closes the door, pointing at two armchairs and a small, round table. "I only showed you the nursery up here."

Danielle eyebrows are perked up high and nods once as she takes a seat on one of the armchair. "Good point." She pauses and licks her lips. "I have to admit, I was a little surprised when you called me earlier this morning."

Liz is sitting down as well and takes a deep breath, crossing her legs. "You know that I can't talk to you about Sam and the case."

"But something is telling me that this is the reason why you called me."

"Everything that we are talking in here has to be confidential, Dani. You can't you it in court, if it get that far."

Danielle sighs heavily and she put her mug on the table. "Liz -"

"Promise me." Liz cuts her off and furrows her brows.

Danielle worries her bottom and is fighting an inner battle for a second. "Fine, let's stay hypothetical."

"Hypothetically, we know that Sam was set up and about to prove it." Liz says and makes a face as she takes a swig of her decaffeinated coffee. "Sam hooked up with Amanda in the wrong time."

Danielle let the information sink in and frowns. "Do you know who set Sam up?"

Liz is hesitating for a second and nods slowly. "Hypothetically, yes. And we are about to convict that person of the murder, but it is a really sensitive case right now."

"Can you tell me the name of the suspect," Danielle asks and raises her hands as she sees her friend's face. "I did not ask that question."

"I heard nothing" Liz states and clink cups with Danielle, and both women are smiling. But Liz' smile is dying as fast as it appeared. "The person who is behind this is a big fish, but we are working really hard on proving Sam's innocence, but we also have to be careful."

"BPD is infiltrated," the lawyer asks and Liz is pursing her lips without saying a word. Danielle knows that it probably is a silent confirmation and presses her lips to a thin line together. She is not that kind of defender who is using such delicate information unless she don't have any other option left to go. And somehow, she can feel that it is not just a sensitive case but also life-threatening for everyone who is involved in it. That means her friend and the friends of her parents. "I hope you know what you are doing, Liz."

Liz is staring down into her mug and nods slowly. "Yeah, me too. All of us are playing a kind of Russian roulette right now. You and Sam included."

"Isn't a first for me." Danielle replies with a smile and sips her coffee. "I have to admit that I was surprised when I got that kind of call from Sammy, and to hear that you told him to call me."

Liz humorlessly scoff and wiggles her brows. "Your name was the first after Adam and I interviewed Sam. I'm sorry about that. I would offer to pay you for your services, but -"

Danielle cuts her off with a wave of her hand and looks directly into Liz' eyes. "Frankie, Maura and Jane already wanted to do that and I told them that I would never charge family for that."

"Thank you." Liz whispers and takes a moment so she don't start to cry. "Thank you for doing this for Sam."

"Anytime." Danielle says with a smile and takes a deep breath. "Do you have witnesses that can testify that Sam is innocent."

Liz hesitates again and nods once. "We do have one witness, yes. But you know that I can't give you the name by now."

The other woman nods and then shakes her head. "You don't have to give me the name. I get it anyway if it comes to a trial. Which I hope doesn't happen."

"We are working hard on it to prevent that." Liz replies and frowns deeply.

Danielle nods slowly and takes a deep breath. "Tell me, how did Jane react when she got to know that you are pregnant?"

Liz blinks a couple of times before she laughs heartily. She is glad for the change of topic and shrugs. "She was unusually calm and for a moment I thought that she had another heart attack because she didn't move an inch. But then she was happy for us, but seemed like she tried to rip Adam apart with her gazes."

"Well, you are still her baby girl."

"And so are you for your dad."

"And he showed it every day especially when he saw me with a man." Danielle replies and rolls her eyes. "When I came home from school with a friend, dad was dressed in his working gear. You know, suit, badge on the belt, gun on the other side of it and handcuffs on the back of it."

"I can't see the problem." Liz states with a shrug.

Danielle lowers her brows and leans forward. "He also did it on his days off."

Liz blinks a couple of times before she burst out laughing and her friend joins her. "Ma did that too. And when we went up to learn she said that we have to keep my door open. And then she came in every hour in to check if we're making out on my couch or bed."

Danielle laughs amused and nods approvingly. "My dad did that to and almost dropped dead when he caught me making out with George."

"No!" Liz laughed amused.

Danielle nods vehemently. "Yes."

"What happened?"

"Dad grabbed George at his shirt and dragged him out of my room, throwing him out of our house."

"That kept you from seeing him?"

"Not the slightest bit."

Liz still laughs and shake her head. She can imagine Frost's furious face and how he throws the admirer of his daughter out of their house. Somehow, she believes that he picked that kind of behavior up from her Ma. Or that police officers are generally that protective when it comes to their daughters.

She knows that Frankie made such a drama when Sam started to have … girlfriends and wondered if it had to do with the gender. She never had been the vulnerable girl in her time of school. When a bully tried to get to her, she stood up and punched his nose, which made her more attractive to other boys … and girls.

She has to smile as she thinks back at a day at Angela's place and when Angela told her that she reminds her so much of Jane because none of them let them get humiliate by a jerk who tried to be the cool kid, and when Angela told her that she is sure Liz is going to walk the same path like her Ma, because she'd stood up for the defenseless already back then.

Liz' heart is tightening as the thought of Angela is crossing her mind. She loved the woman who raised her Ma to be such a woman, and who devoted the rest of her life to be there for T.J., Sam a herself when she was needed. They had great days and even better nights when her cousins and she stayed over at Angela's.

The day Angela had passed away, Liz had been devastated. It felt like someone ripped her grandma out of her heart and left a deep hole in it, a space that never could be filled again. After her grandma was gone, Liz refused to speak or to eat. She couldn't, every time she opened her mouth she felt like she is going to break down and when she took a bite of food she felt like throwing up again.

She was beyond grateful that Maura gave her the time she needed while Jane tried to force her to talk or to eat. Jane even yelled at her because Liz bottled everything up inside her and refused to talk or eat.

One day, Maura had brought her a small salad to her room and sat down next to Liz. She didn't say a word about grieve, touched or begged her to take a bite of the food.

Maura just sat there on the couch next to her daughter and comfort her in silence until Liz finally allowed her feelings and started to cry thick tears.

In that moment, Maura wasted no time and hold her daughter tight to her body without saying a word. That was what Liz needed, not being pushed, not being forced to feel the feelings after the first great loss in her life.

Jane's father Frank had passed before Angela and they had been on his funeral in Florida, but she didn't feel the same like she felt on Angela's. It wasn't as painful because she didn't really know him and only met him once in a blue moon.

Angela, on the other hand, felt like losing one of the most important persons in her life. She felt this kind of feeling twice in her life. With the death of Angela and with the death of Mark Callahan. But now, being so close to the next disaster, this feeling is stirring up again.

"You okay," Danielle asks gently with a frown.

Liz blinks a couple of times and smiles weakly. "Yeah, just walked down the memory lane."

Danielle nods slowly and smiles softly.

"I just say that it is a bold venture." Jane says and shoves Adam's plate toward him, and he nods once. "There are so many -" She gasps surprised as she finds herself in a bone crushing hug of her daughter and doesn't need to think twice to wrap her arms around Liz. "Okay." She says with a soft smile. She might never been the greatest fan of hugs, but after she became a mother that had changed. But she also learned not to question when her adult daughter get access of emotion.

Maura smiles broadly and then her eyebrows shoot up high as soon as the air is squeezed out of her lungs. She furrows her brows when Liz nestle her nose into the crook of her neck, rubbing her daughter's back with both hands.

Jane frowns and looks at Danielle, who is smiling broadly. "What is going on?"

Danielle still smiles and shrugs. "She took a walk down the memory lane."

Jane needs a moment but then she nods slowly.

Maura frowns a little but kisses the side of Liz' head.

Adam is just takes aback like his parents-in-law when Liz walks up to him and press her lips gently to his, but his hands find their way to her hips immediately.

Jane purses her lips and drops her eyes to her feet as her daughter is doing so and Maura turns her attention to Danielle who is grinning like a Cheshire cat.

"Does he have a brother?" Danielle whispers to Maura and makes a pouty face when the blonde shakes her head. "That's too bad. A sister?"

Maura is grunting amused and shakes her head once more. "Adam is like Liz a only child."

"Damn it." Danielle grumbles and chuckles with Maura now.

Adam smiles broadly as he pulls away and comes back to reality and realizes that they are not alone this morning. "How about breakfast?"

Liz clears her throat and nods as she looks at her family. "Sounds great."

Jane is about to say something when Adam's phone starts to ring.

He rolls and takes the call, listening attentively before he confirms the information and hangs up again. "I think it's breakfast to go for you."

Liz makes a pouty and crosses her arms over her chest.

Maura smiles broadly and makes her way behind the kitchen island. "You two go and change and I prepare your breakfast to go."

"Thank you, Mom." Liz says and starts to head towards the stairs.

"Would you mind if we give advice and support to you at the new crime scene," Jane asks all of a sudden, being sure that this new murder has to do with the McIntosh family.

Adam stops walking and looks long down at her wife. Then, he hunch his shoulders and nods slowly. "Not at all."

Maura rolls her eyes now and sighs heavily.

Liz chuckles amused and makes her way up the stairs.


	13. Chapter 13

The silence on the ride to the new crime scene is almost piercing. Neither of the four are daring to say a word like one word is breaking loose the storm.

Jane is the one who is driving the car and her eyes dart every now and then to the rearview mirror, catching the reflection of a black sedan in it. Her jaw is clenched and her grip on the steering wheel tightens. Something deep down inside her is telling that they are about to set loose something they better shouldn't.

Maura doesn't need to ask what is wrong with her wife, only one look at the former detective, the silence and the tense atmosphere in the vehicle says everything. Besides, she had noticed the following car since Jane had put the Jeep out of Liz' driveway. She knows, mention it wouldn't have changed anything. She takes a deep breath and feels like she is taken back twenty years.

Liz knows that the silence in the car doesn't mean anything good and she has to suppress the urge to turn and look out of the rear window to see what the silence has caused. She takes a deep breath and licks nervously her lips. She is aware of the fact that she had drawn a crimson target on her back as she had decided to investigate against the McIntosh's. She licks her lips and furls her brows as soon as her Ma stops **her** car, and as soon as she spots her friends Chaz and Leslie. She get out of the car as soon as it stops and eyes her friends skeptically. "I am a little confused."

Leslie looks for a second at Chaz with a worried expression and has to swallow hard. "It looks like suicide." She simply says and frowns.

Adam furls his brows and blinks a couple of times. "And why are we here then?"

It seems like the redhead and Chaz are having a silent disagreement until Leslie rolls her eyes. "It's Melissa."

Jane closes her eyes and has to swallow her groan, and Maura presses her lips to a thin line together.

Liz expression darkens immediately and starts to head towards the apartment building. She can see that it is a nice that kind of neighborhood that she would prefer if she wouldn't be married and soon-to-be mom, and she realizes that none of them knows what Melissa has been doing for a living, something tells her in this moment that Melissa didn't pay the rent herself. She put on a pair of gloves and follows the very quiet Chaz upstairs. "What about the elevator?"

Chaz doesn't look at her and shrugs. "It's out of order."

"Great." Jane grumbles under her breath and Maura has to smile a little. It's not like they got out of shape with time, but both of them, Jane and Maura, do know that they're not the youngest anymore. "We should have wait downstairs."

Maura rolls her eyes now and Adam has to do his best so he doesn't chuckle.

"Who called 911," he asks and Leslie looks at him.

"A neighbor after he heard a gun shoot," she answers and thinks about to help the older couple, but then she change her mind.

Liz furls her brows and turns her head to her friend. "She doesn't seem suicidal to me."

"Maybe she realized in what kind of trouble she got herself into, and shooting herself was the easier way out of it." Adam offers one possibility.

"Yeah, maybe." His wife sighs and enters the apartment of their now dead key witness. She can see that there are no signs for forced entry or a fight, everything seems to be in place. "What about the apartment door? Was it locked when the two of you arrived?"

Chaz shakes his head and licks his lips. "The door was unlocked but closed. We knocked several times and then we tried the doorknob as we didn't get a response, and then we found Melissa in the living room on the couch with a gun shot wound to the head. She was dead already when we came here."

Soltini scribble his notes down and freezes as soon as he locks eyes with Liz. "Detectives." He greets them clinically and continues his work.

Adam tucks in his chin and frowns deeply. "Doc." He almost growls and eyes his wife, who apparently has to swallow hard. He can tell that something is off, and he's going to find out what.

Jane gives her daughter a light nudge with her elbow and thrusts her chin in the direction of Melissa's bedroom, respectively bathroom. "I'll take a look in there." She says and walks in the said direction after the younger brunette nodded.

Maura smiles politely at her successor and looks down at Melissa. "May I?"

Soltini looks long at her and frowns. "How can I refuse that?"

Liz rolls her eyes and swallows her groan and holds her breath as she catch the skeptical look of Adam. _No, we are not doing this right here and right now. Or anytime soon_ , she thinks to herself and takes a deep breath. "Maybe you are right, maybe Melissa thought that this would be her only way out."

Now, Adam knows that there is something wrong because Liz normally would never agree so easily with him. He walks to a small table behind the couch and takes a framed picture in his hand. "Maybe," he mumbles as he studies the picture that shows Melissa, a younger woman who could be a relative and a small girl. "Melissa didn't have a daughter, did she?"

Liz thank the CSRU, who hands her a evidence bag with a letter in it, and frowns. "No, she didn't." She tilts her head to the side and shakes it slightly. "She did not have family at all."

Adam turns the corners of his mouth downward and shows her his finding. "They look pretty much like family."

She studies the picture as well and nods slowly, handing him the ensured suicide letter. "Does that look like a letter by someone's own accord?"

"Looks more like she was hesitating as she wrote it." He states and takes a deep breath. "Was she forced to write it?"

"By whom," the brunette asks and starts to worry her bottom lip. She takes another look around in the living room and furrows her eyebrows. "Either she let her own murderer in or he had a key to this apartment. We need to find out who rent or own this place."

"Agree." Adam says with a nod, but then he steps closer to his wife as he sees her thoughtful look. "What is it?"

Liz takes a deep breath and starts to shake her head. "Experience has shown that female suicides most likely chose the soft way to die. They rather kill themselves with poison or pills. Ways which are not so messy like shooting themselves into the head."

"I agree." Maura says as she looks up from the body. "Male suicides most likely don't care about the mess they leave behind and about the people who have to clean after them. They don't care about the blood and the brain tissue."

Adam nods slowly and seems to ponder the words. "True." He rolls his eyes as he hears the scoff of Liz. "Not because men don't care about the mess. I meant, it is true that most of the suicides, which were committed by women, weren't as bloody as those of men."

"I agree with all of you." Jane says as she enters the living room and holds up three bottles of pills. "Melissa had enough pills in her medicine cabinet to kill herself more than three times."

"What kind of pills," Maura asks and frowns.

"Sleep-inducting drugs." The Italian answers and quirks an eyebrow. "Would've been a much … easier way."

The former Medical Examiner nods slowly as her wife bag the evidence and takes a deep breath.

Jane stops dead and looks long at her wife. "Maura, what have you found?"

Maura hesitates and throws a short glance over her shoulder, directly at Soltini.

He lowers his clipboard and smiles wryly. "I am a big boy, Dr. Isles. I can handle it if you found something that I've been missing."

She clears her throat and the other investigators gather around her. "Well, I can see that there is no gunpowder residue around the entry wound." She says and takes the right hand of Melissa in her own, pointing at the younger woman's palm. "That doesn't say much, but the blood splatters in Melissa's palm says a lot. According to the entry wound in the right temple, she held the gun in her right hand as she pulled the trigger."

Liz' shoulders slump and she stares with hard eyes at Soltini. "In that case, there shouldn't be any blood splatters on her palm at all. It wasn't a suicide."

"It can be excluded, yes." Maura agrees with a nod.

Soltini's eyes grow big and you can see that he wants to be anywhere but at the crime scene right now.

Maura straightens up and turns to the ME. "Dr. Soltini, would you mind if I attend the autopsy?"

He clears his throat and shakes his head. "No, not at all."

She forces herself to smile and nods now, everyone can see that she is asking herself right now if Soltini has been the right choice. "Thank you."

Liz clench her teeth and turns on her heels to leave the crime scene now, followed by her mothers and her husband. She shakes her head and stomps down the stairs. If she wouldn't leave now, she is sure that she would bite Soltini's head off and that would rouse suspicion. But missing things like that could jeopardize a murder case and she is sure that the McIntosh's are waiting for something like that.

Adam's following her closely and frowns deeply. "Hey, what's going on between you and Soltini?" He whispers sharply.

"Nothing," she whispers back and inhales the fresh air deeply.

"Liz -"

"Not here and not now, Adam."

He stops dead and furls his brows. "Not here and …"

She ignores him as soon as her eyes spots the car that has been following them and that is parked at the curb right now. She huffs and starts to walk towards the said car, putting her gloves off.

Adam lowers his brows now and stares after her. He knows that Liz would freak out if he keeps on following her and he rolls his eyes.

Liz has walked straight up to the car and knocks at the window of the driver's door, signaling the driver to turn the window down. She blinks against the sun as the dark-haired man does so and smiles innocently. "How ya doin?"

He is silent for a second before he shrugs. "What can I do for you, Officer?"

The smile on her lips is dying instantly and she bends forward, her face is hard as stone and her eyebrows are perked up high. "You can deliver a message to your boss. Tell him that I lie in wait for a slip of him, and that I will be there to arrest him. Killing Melissa was a huge mistake, messing with me is a huge mistake. Got it, or should I write it down for ya?"

He stares at her and turns the window back up, starting the engine.

Liz looks after the car as it disappears around the corner and sighs heavily.

"You do know that you are playing with fire, don't you," Leslie asks as she comes up to her friend and frowns.

The brunette turns to her and quirks an brow. "But I won't be the one who gets burned." She says and shoves her gloves into the redhead's hands.

"Let's hope so, by goodness." Leslie whispers and takes a deep breath.

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Adam sits down at the edge of Liz' desk and scrutinize her with a deep frown. "What happened?"

She slowly looks up and frowns as well. "What?"

"Between you and Soltini."

"Adam -"

"I know that something is going on." He cuts her off and pauses for a second. "I can see it in the way he looks at you and how you behave around him. You barely spend time downstairs anymore."

Liz sighs heavily and leans back in her chair. "Well, that's because I have to be -"

"Don't finish that sentence." He warns her and shakes his head with closed eyes. "Perhaps I am a sap sometimes, but I have eyes in my head and I can put one and one together, Liz. There is a reason why I am a detective."

Liz swallows hard and holds his gaze. "Can we not talk about it right now?"

"Why not," he asks and hunch his shoulders. "Chaz is in BRIC, trying to figure out who the two girls on the picture is, and Leslie is with Maura and Jane down in the morgue. The rest of the unit is still working in the field or already at home, we are all by ourselves."

The brunette takes a look around and sighs. "Apparently Soltini has … romantic feelings for me," she whispers with a frown.

Adam stares over her head into nothing and nods slowly. "Is that what you assume, or do you know that for sure?"

"I know it."

"And how do you know that?"

Liz furrows her brows and shakes her head. "Adam, please."

"I won't go down and shoot him. I can strangle him to death." He says with a hushed voice.

She has to fight the smile back that dares to appear on her lips, but then she licks her lips. "A couple of days ago we met in the garage after work and we had a little chat and all of a sudden he kissed me."

Adam let the words sink in and clench his teeth. "And … do you reciprocate his feelings."

Liz blinks a couple of times and her frown deepens. "Are you seriously asking me that?" She snorts as he nods and hisses, "No, I do not reciprocate his feelings, Adam. The only man I have romantic feelings for in this building is you, and that's what I told Soltini. That I am not interested in a affair with him because I am in love with you, and that you are my husband and that I could never cheat on you."

"You never know." Adam retorts and has to force himself to keep an straight face.

Liz narrows her eyes and slaps his thigh when she sees the amused look. "You are a prick sometimes."

Adam chuckles and gets up to his feet. "I know, but you still love me."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." She replies with a sly smile, but then she turns serious as soon as Chaz is coming up to them. "Tell me that you know who the girls on the picture are, Charles."

He slows his steps and looks helplessly at Adam. "I'm still on it, but I know who is the owner of Melissa's apartment."

"Cameron McIntosh." Liz states and crosses her arms over her chest.

"Close," he replies and hands Adam a folder.

The other man opens the file and his eyebrows shoot up high. "But not close enough. Laura McIntosh is the owner."

"Who the hell is Laura McIntosh," Liz asks confused with furrowed brows.

Adam scoffs and looks at his wife. "She is Nicholas McIntosh's older daughter and a property shark."

"You have to be kidding me." Liz says in disbelief and drops her arms back down.

"Melissa mentioned that the McIntosh's are a multi-talented." Chaz retorts and hunch his shoulders.

"Yeah, and it seem like they already run Boston." She grumbles. "Nothing of our information makes the investigation any easier." She pauses and runs an hand over her face. "What about the Bersa Thunder we found at the crime scene? Did Melissa have a FAC?"

Chaz shakes his head and looks briefly at Adam. "She did not, no."

"That doesn't mean that the gun wasn't hers." Adam throws in and sighs. "Way too many people own a gun without having a FAC."

"Unfortunately true." Liz agrees and presses her lips together for a moment. "What about the serial number of the gun?"

"It was filed off." Chaz says and sighs as Liz groans. "We have to wait for Ballistics."

"No matter where we're heading, we always end in a dead end." She says frustrated.

"Not so fast." Jane says as she enters the bullpen with a smirk. "Melissa did not commit suicide, it's impossible. The wound track is going down. If she shot herself, she had to hold the Bersa Thunder in a really awkward position. No one could hold it that way and pulp the trigger."

"You sure," the younger woman asks and frowns.

"One hundred percent positive."

"Now we need to find who killed Amanda and Melissa. We need to prove that Cameron McIntosh is the one who wanted them dead."

"What about the car that followed us this morning," Jane asks and flop down on the chair next to her old desk.

Adam walks over to the coffeemaker and pours two cups of coffee. "I already checked the license plate, it was faked."

"And what about the driver?"

"Damn it." Liz suddenly says louder and clap her hands. "I knew I forgot to ask the driver for his name."

Chaz looks down at his feet to hide his smile and Adam sips his coffee to do the same.

Jane rolls her eyes and accepts the other cup from her son-in-law. "Don't be a smartass once again. In the time you have been talking with the driver I might took a pic or two of him." She looks at Chaz and frowns. "I already sent it to you, Chaz."

He nods slowly and turns on his heels. "I run it through facial recognition."

"I sent Leslie home." Jane suddenly says and looks directly at Adam. "I hope you don't mind it."

Adam takes a look at his watch and frowns as he sees that it is already late. He turns on his chair in the direction of BRIC. "Hey, Chaz." He says louder and scratches the back of his head as the other man looks at him. "When you're done, you can go home too. The program is also running without you."

Chaz nods and gives him thumbs up.

Liz chuckles and starts rolling her head in her neck, stretching her back. Somehow, all of them got so engrossed in their researches that none of them realized how late it was and that's what r back is paying her back right now.

Jane watches her daughter and arches an eyebrow with a smirk. "Back pain?"

The younger woman nods slowly and sighs. "It's getting a little harder day by day. Sitting for to lo g is killing me, standing for too long is killing me, walking for too long is killing me too." She pauses and glares at her husband. "It's your fault."

Adam chokes on his coffee and Jane scoffs. "Why is it my fault? What have I done?"

"Really," she asks back and tries to stifle a yawn. "Really?"

Jane is laughing heartily and abandons her mug after she got up from the chair. "Come one, kids, let's go home. Tomorrow is a new day."

Liz looks long at Adam and wiggle her brows.

He smiles a little and nods slowly as he gets up and takes his jacket from the back of his chair. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Let's get some rest."

Liz nods approvingly and is about to get up from her chair, sighing. "That sounds more than great."

Adam chuckles and Jane rolls her eyes with a smile.


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys, I am really sorry for the long delay, but now this story is back and I hooey that you will like the update. And thank you all for reading and following, and for reviewing.**

 **Anyway, enjoy.**

 **T73.**

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Maura comes out of the ensuite bathroom and slows her steps as soon as she sees that her wife's laying in their bed and staring up the ceiling. Something's telling her that she's going to regret her question but she can sense that something's bothering the brunette. "What are you thinking about," she ask and waits for the answer that is probably going to upset her.

Jane takes a deep breath and props herself up on her elbows, frowning. "I still try to deal with the fact that we're about to become grandparents."

"Jane, we both knew that the day would come at some point," the doctor states with an understanding smile. It's not like she's just accepting the fact that her little girl became a adult woman from one day to the next, she had watched the process and helped Liz with words and deeds. It was strange to her in the first place that their only child came to her and talked to Maura about her physical development, asked questions that would make Jane blush and stammer. No matter how old her wife becomes, there are things that will never change. Jane and talking about sex with their daughter, that's something that won't happen, never. Maura was the one who had the talk with Liz and it never bothered her. She never was shy when it came to the topic sex, she never had a reason for being shy about it. As a physician she already had a lot more chats which had been more unpleasant for her.

Jane purses her lips and furrows her brows, shrugging. "It doesn't mean that I have to like it. The thought of our only child being together with a man -" She trails off and shudders.

The doctor chuckles amused as she lays down next to the Italian and places her head on Jane's shoulder, sneaking her hand under the shirt of Jane. She looks up and smirks. "What do you think? How many times have our parents laid in their beds and had the same conversation?"

Jane pulls Maura closer and takes a deep breath. The thought of her mother laying in bed and thinking about Jane's sex life doesn't ease anything. On the contrary, it makes her shudder again. "I hope not too many times." She replies and Maura scoffs. "I mean, I didn't put Liz into your womb, Maura. We had to go to a lot of appointments, had a hell lot of injections and had to be very patient." She says and the smaller woman looks up at her. "It's just … Liz always has been out little girl, our princess. And all of a sudden she's a grown woman, married and about to become a mother. It's like the years had passed by in a wink. I … I don't know if I'm ready to become a grandmother, Maura."

Maura props herself up on her elbows and scrutinizes her wife's face with a soft smile.

The Italian holds her gaze for a moment, but then she tucks in her chin. "What," she asks and her eyebrows shoot up high as soon as she feels her wife's lips on her own. "What was that for?"

"Because I love you," the doctor answers and the smile on her lips grows wider.

A smile is grazing Jane's lips and her worries almost melt away. "I love you too."

Maura's fingers are tracing Jane's jaw and she sighs. "It doesn't matter to me for how long we are together already. Every time I look at you I fall for you even harder, Jane."

Hearing those words coming from the woman's lips to whom she's married for over twenty-five years makes her heart skipping a beat. She would die for this woman without hesitance, and for their only child.

Maura follows the lines in Jane's face with her eyes and runs her fingers through graying hair. "We already had this kind of conversation."

"What?"

"About you being ready for a big change in your life, we already had this conversation. It's a little while ago, when we got to know that we were pregnant to be exact. You've been worrying if you're going to be a good mother and if you could handle the burden of being a cop and a mother. And what it would mean if something happens to you. If either of us have enough time to be there for our child **and** our jobs, and you wondered what kind of sports our child would like."

"And then you got kidnapped by a lunatic serial killer who thought he could keep you forever." Jane states with pursed lips.

Maura decides to give those lips a peck and hunch her shoulders, ignoring the comment. "And our beautiful daughter turned out to be perfectly well. She's smart."

"Thanks to you."

"She's strong."

"Thanks to you."

"She's really beautiful."

"Thanks to you and the sperm donor."

Maura rolls her eyes with a smile. "She's stubborn."

Jane's silent for a moment and smirks. "Thanks to either of us."

Maura scoffs and slaps the arm of her wife. "That's something you're proud of?"

Jane chuckles and hold Maura at her wrists so the doctor can't hit her once more. "Of course."

The graying blonde grins and looks lovingly at her wife. "But what matters most is that Elizabeth knows what family really means and what it means to be really loved, and that's because of you, Jane."

Jane's smile is fading a little, but the love in her eyes is clearly visible. "That's because of both of us, Maura. And maybe a little because of our son-in-law."

Maura suppresses the urge to roll her eyes and sighs. "And everything you taught our daughter, you're gonna teach our grandchild. You'll gonna be a great grandmother."

"And so are you," the Italian replies and pulls Maura to her. "Is it wrong if I want to -"

Maura smirks and bits her bottom lip as her wife trails off. She squeals in surprise when Jane buries her underneath her body all of a sudden and let her hands roam over the back of the Italian. "I think that's something we're not telling Liz."

"Good idea, Doctor." Jane growls with a devilish grin.

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Liz groans loudly as she emerges from her house and rolls her eyes. "It's just a coffee, Adam, and not a tequila shot."

"I'm just saying that you shouldn't be drinking this." Adam shoots back and follows her, locking the house.

"You sound like my mother."

"Which one?"

Liz turns to him and searches for an good answer. Then she throws her right hand up. "Both," she answers louder and her husband smirks. She grabs him at his tie and pulls him against her body. "You're gonna regret this."

"Probably," he replies and takes the traveling mug from Liz' hand, taking a sip from it.

She narrows her eyes with a playful smile. "I hate you."

Adam bends his head and gives her a peck. "I love you too. And something tells me that the evening turns out perfectly fine for me."

Liz' lips are still close to his as she grabs the keys from his hand. "You wish," she says against them and unlocks the car, and he chuckles amused. She turns around and stops dead instantly as soon as she spots a unknown man standing in their driveway. Even Adam's body language changes and he stands tall behind her. "Can I help you," she asks with a unwavering voice and furls her brows. Sometimes she's still a patrol officer and not a Homicide Detective.

The unknown man turn to her and his eyebrows shoot up high. "Wow, you just look like your mother."

Liz doesn't feel flattered by his words because they are said with a hint of venom and is glad that she feels Adam's presence. "Thank you … I think."

"And who are you," Adam asks and stand protectively behind his wife.

The stranger reach out his hand and smiles friendly. "My mistake. I am Benjamin Payton, Chief Prosecutor of Miami. Nice to meet you, Mr -"

"Detective Adam Laverty." Adam says skeptically and shakes Ben's hand.

Liz doesn't move in the first place. Her brain tells her that she'd heard the name Ben Payton already, but she can't put a finger on where. She has the feeling that the name was mentioned by her Ma when she wanted to hurt Maura deeply, and that this name has been the reason for a lot of fights. She makes a step forward as she feels a light push and she comes back to her senses, shaking Ben's hand. "I'm sorry. I'm Detective Elizabeth Isles … Rizzoli." _Damn it_ , she courses herself and doesn't know why she feels the need to introduce herself with her full name. "Detective Elizabeth Rizzoli-Isles."

Ben's eyebrows perch up high. "Maura named you after her grandmother?"

Liz presses her lips together and nods approvingly. "She did, yes." She answers and nods.

"Jane and Maura were married?"

"They still are. They got married before I was born."

"And this young man is your boyfriend?"

Liz blinks a couple of times and looks at Adam. "He's my husband."

Adam's face darkens by now and he places his hands on Liz' shoulders. "Is there a reason why you ask such private questions, Counselor? And I really die to know why you have our address."

Ben raises his hands and shakes his head. "No, I'm sorry. It's just Jane, Maura and I have a history and I didn't speak to either of them for a long time." He pauses and sighs. "I'm here because you're investigating the McIntosh family and as soon as I got to know that, I asked who's the leading detective in this case. So BPD gave me the address of you, Detective Laverty."

"Uh-huh," Adam says skeptically and furls his brows. Ben definitely gives him a creepy feeling. "Is there a problem? That we're investigating the McIntosh family I mean."

"Not at all, Detective." Ben replies and shrugs. "I'm after them since I got the job as Chief Prosecutor in Miami. I think I have very interesting details for your case."

"Let's talk about it at the station."

"Sure, lead the way."

Liz nods slowly and takes place behind the steering wheel of Adam's Dodge. It seems like she's still trying to place the name Ben Payton. Her eyes went huge and she gasps loudly.

Adam turns his head a frowns. "You realize that it would be better that I'm driving?"

"I know who Ben Payton is."

"Me too. He's a prosecutor in Miami."

"He's my mother's ex."

Adam blinks a couple of times. He's well aware of the fact that Maura also had make lovers in the past. "Her ex-boyfriend?"

She pulls out of the driveway. "Mom's ex-husband."

"You have to be kidding me," Adam exclaims loudly.

"Mom has been married to a man named Benjamin Payton before she got married to Ma, Adam."

"I know that but he's -"

"A lawyer?"

"Yes." Adam finishes his sentence and lowers his brows. "You've been kinda prejudicing, Elizabeth."

Her shoulders slump and she sighs. "I know. I mean … I heard his name a couple of times when I was younger. My parents literally erased him from their lives, I never saw a picture of Ben." She pauses and shrugs. "And now there are a lot of lawyers involved in this case." She throws a glance at him and swats his thigh. "That's the point where you try to calm my nerves."

"Why do I have to do that it, Liz?" He scoffs and frowns. "There are a lot lawyers involved by now. Well, Dania tries to clean Sam's name again." He pauses and hunch his shoulders. "What do you think about pink?"

"Really?" Liz asks with a smile and is glad about the change of subject. "Pink?"

"It's a color."

"For girls."

"What makes you think that our baby's a boy?" Adam laughs and frowns.

Liz smirks knowingly and quirks an eyebrow. "A mother knows."

"So I can buy **him** Curbs stuff?"

"Only over my dead body." She laughs even though she's checking the rearview mirror to check if Ben really is following them. "My child's going to be a Red Sox fan. You really want to start setting up the nursery?"

He takes a deep breath and nods slowly. "I was planning to set the nursery up this weekend. Maybe TJ's going to help me."

Liz nods approvingly and sighs loudly. "Perhaps Sam will help you too if you ask him nicely."

Adam looks long at her and takes her hand into his own. Somehow he's glad that they finally broach the subject. He knows that there are currently busy with the case, but even when he and Liz come home they try to avoid the topic, like they're still coping with the fact that they're really becoming parents. "What kind of color for the nursery do you have in mind, Liz?"

She takes a second to think carefully about her answer and purses her lips. "My room was painted in a neutral shade. Mint green."

"Mint green," he asks and looks amused at his wife. "How is that neutral?"

Liz glances briefly at him. "What does that supposed to mean?"

"Mint -" he says and trails off as soon as he sees that her jaw is clenched. "Nothing. Mint green sounds -" He makes a face when Liz digs her nails in his thigh. Adam clears his throat and takes a look side mirror. "Your parents gonna be happy to see Benjamin Payton again."

"Yeah," Liz mumbles and has a really bad feeling. "They're gonna be thrilled, especially Ma."

Adam looks puzzled at her but knows that this conversation is over already.

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Leslie's watching how Adam guides an older, unknown man in the direction of the elevators and that he's trying to keep up a friendly mask. "Who's that," she asks as soon as she feel a very known presence next to her.

"Benjamin Payton," Liz answers with a sigh and eyes the paper cup in her friend's hand. "A prosecutor from Miami. Is that real coffee in there?"

Leslie turns her head and looks puzzled at the brunette. "Of course, what else?"

Liz snatches the cup from the redhead's hand and takes a good sip of it, moaning loudly. "That's what I needed. Coffee. Since Adam knows that I'm pregnant, he's even worse than my mother."

"I know what you mean." Leslie laughs and doesn't make the attempt to take the cup from her friend. "It's like our men read everything up in the net and torture us with everything that we shouldn't drink or eat."

Liz rolls her eyes and laughs with Leslie, taking a deep breath. "Adam thinks about to furnish the nursery at the weekend."

"Slowly, it's becoming real, huh?" The other woman asks with a small smile and a light frown.

Liz doesn't answer right away and looks down at her feet with pursed lips. "Yes, and it's starts to scare me, Leslie. I mean, I don't even know how that could happen." She turns her head to look at her friend and tucks in her chin when she sees the disbelieving glance, scoffing. "Of course I know what Adam and I did to make this happen, but -"

"I got it," the redhead laughs and nods. "I got it, Liz. And I know what you mean. I've been in your situation already and it's okay to be scared. But it's going to be better at dome point."

 _Or worse_ , Liz thinks and bites her tongue. She doesn't want to hurt her friend with the comment that Leslie's marriage almost failed because of her pregnancy. She's well aware that it would be inappropriate and that there had been other reasons why Chaz cheated on Leslie. Well, his actions also ruined the friendship of the two women. She's just happy that everything turned out fine. "Do you think Chaz can help Adam with the room tomorrow?"

"Yeah, sure." The other woman agrees and has a smile on her lips like she's holding something back.

The brunette looks skeptically at her and furls her eyebrows. "What?"

"Nothing." Leslie laughs and looks long at her friend. "You doesn't appear to be happy that another lawyer is interfering in this case."

"It's for personal reasons."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

Liz turns away from the crowd in the entrance hall so no one else than Leslie can hear her words. "Benjamin Payton is Mom's ex-husband and neither her nor Ma knows that he's here." She pauses and shrugs. "It didn't cross my mind to call them and giver them a warning when Adam and I drove here. Our baby came up all of a sudden and … I'm a lousy daughter."

"Liz, calm down." Leslie cuts the brunette off and hunch her shoulders. "Your patents will understand. Maybe they're gonna be pissed in the first place, but they'll understand. Now freaking out won't do any good to you."

"You're right," Liz agrees and takes a deep breath, frowning. "I have to talk to Novak."

The redhead follows Liz immediately and pushes the button of the elevator. "Why do you have to talk to him?"

"Someone in the station gave Payton my address without informing me." The brunette answers and puts her professional mask back on.

"Really," Leslie asks with an high-pitched voice and her friend nods. "Idiots."

"You don't say." Liz agrees and looks up at the display.


	15. Chapter 15

Maura and Jane are arriving at the third floor in the station and chat about everything and nothing, unaware about what's waiting for them. Somehow, Maura has a bad feeling since she woke up this morning, but she didn't tell Jane about that feeling. She was afraid that her wife would think that she's going crazy.

Jane can feel that something id off this morning but the past has shown her that it's better to wait until Maura finally tells her what's bothering her. In that the two women aren't so different, neither of them like to be pushed. She looks down at the smaller woman and furrows her brows. "You okay, Maura?"

The doctor's eyes find brown ones and forces herself to smile, nodding. "I'm fine, Jane." She can see that Jane's not buying it and that she decides not to ask more questions for now. She takes a deep breath and steps out if the elevator as soon as the door opens. She's glad that she doesn't have to be in that elevator anymore because she's sure that Jane would start to ask questions any moment.

The Italian rolls her eyes and follow Maura hot on her heels. She enters the bullpen right after her wife and smiles at their daughter, who's sitting at her desk. She senses that something's bothering her daughter also, and it raises her suspicion even more. A low growl rumbles from her throat as someone bumps into her shoulder and turns her head to bite the person's head off. A broad smile finds its way across her lips and she immediately wraps her arms around the uniformed officer. She doesn't care anymore what the others in this room are thinking about that. "It's good to see that you're back."

"Thanks, Jane." He replies as he pulls away and looks at Liz, perching his eyebrows up.

The young woman let her eyes roam over him and smiles slyly. "You look like an idiot, as always."

Maura gasps and swats her shoulder of her daughter. "Elizabeth." She admonishes the younger woman and the others laugh.

"It's good to see you back in your uniform." Liz says with a smile and leans back in her chair. "At least we made clear that you've been framed."

Sam nods slowly and looks at each of them. "Yes, you did. I don't know how I can thank you for that. And it's great to be back again. Can I get all of you a cup of coffee?"

Liz is the first who speaks up, "Yes, definitely yes."

"Liz takes a cup tea," Maura says and Liz makes a pouty face. "And the others of us take a coffee."

"Maura," Jane laughs as she sees the expression of her daughter and she really feels sorry for the young woman. "it's just a cup of coffee. It won't hurt anyone."

Maura opens her mouth to reply something but then it seems like all color is draining from her face.

Liz furls her brows and turns her head in the direction in which her mother's looking and can see why Maura's reacting that way. Ben and her Lieutenant are coming into the bullpen and both seem to get along very well. She sighs heavily and wishes to be somewhere else than here.

Jane looks in the same direction and a low growl escapes from her throat as soon as she spots her former opponent. "Really," she says low.

Liz' eyebrows shoot up high and she ducks her head a little.

Ben slows his steps as he looks at the two older women and smiles broadly at them. "Maura, Jane. It's good to see you. You haven't changed much."

"I wish I could say the same." The Italian mumbles under her breath.

Maura swallows the lump in her throat and smiles her best faked smile. "Ben, it's been a while since the last time I've seen you. What brings you back to Boston?"

He crosses his arms over his chest and nods to the glass board. "I heard about the investigation against the McIntosh family and I wanted to see where you are."

"Because you're working for them," Jane asks dead serious and shifts her weight from one foot to the other, and the whole bullpen becomes more than quiet.

He scoffs and drops his arms back to his sides. "No. No, I'm not working for the citizens of Miami, Jane. For years I was waiting to charge the McIntosh's with something, anything. But they are glossy, really glossy. But it seems like Cameron finally made a huge mistake."

Adam leans back in his chair and gives everyone else the chance to speak before he does, "So the McIntosh family's operating in Miami as well?"

Ben looks long at the younger man and frowns. "They are operating nationwide, Detective Laverty. I can't blame you for not knowing in what you got yourself into." He says and gets a really thick file out of his briefcase, handing it to Adam. "This family is the paragon of down-and-dirty. **I** know that twenty-seven cops got killed in the last five years, only in Miami."

Jane takes a step forward and furls her brows. "Why didn't you charge them for anything to take them off the street?"

"My office and I had absolutely nothing." Ben answers and sighs heavily.

" **Nothing**? Not even parking or speeding?"

"Nothing that would be enough to put them in jail forever. My office and I are sure that the McIntosh family business is existing for at least three generations."

Adam looks up from the folder. "So, they are a really big fish."

"One of the biggest, yes." Ben agrees and runs an hand over his jaw. "I'm working hand in hand with the United States attorney's office and always get informed when a police department is close to arrest one of them. That's why I'm back in Boston."

"You could have call or write an email instead of coming all the way from Miami to Boston."

"I like to meet the officers who are about to bring down one of the McIntosh's."

Jane scoffs and steps right behind her daughter. "All of you motives sound so noble, but something tells me that you're gonna have your benefits."

Ben nods slowly and smiles wryly. "I can understand you skepticism, Jane," he says and his eyes land on Liz. "But I also warn every cop who's working on a case that involves one of the McIntosh's. These people doesn't hesitate to kill an entire family off. And apparently you're family is about to have a addition to your family."

Adam can feel anger spreading through his body and is the first who is up to his feet and stands tall.

Sam lowers his eyebrows and places his right hand on his service weapon, stepping forward.

Liz rolls back with her chair so its back is hitting the legs of her Ma because she can feel that Jane's about to jump over her desk to strangle Ben in front of a lot of police officers and she doesn't want to visit her Ma in jail, and Maura wraps her fingers around Jane's wrist to hold her wife back. She tilts her head to the side and furls her brows. "Are you threatening me, Counselor?"

"Threatening you?" Ben laughs and stuffs his hands into the pockets of his pants. "Why would I be threatening you, Detective? I'm only telling you that this organization doesn't spare pregnant women."

Liz scoffs and licks her lips. "I don't like to be threatened, Sir. And I really hope that you're not helping the McIntosh cartel in any way. You don't want me as your enemy … **Counselor**."

Ben looks long at her and starts to laugh. "She's just as hot-blooded as Jane, isn't she?" His eyes finds Adam's and he smiles, but his eyes are hard. "You have to be careful, Detective Laverty. I was ditched because of such a woman."

Adam clenches his jaw and takes a step forward. It' clearly visible that he won't hesitate to beat the shit out of Ben if he dares to say something like that ever again.

Jane stands in front of the lawyer and pokes his chest with her index finger, her face is unreadable. "Perhaps you have a reason to be mad at me." She snarls and holds his gaze. "I can understand that, I snatched Maura from you. But say something like that about my daughter ever again and I'll show you what it means to have a hot-blooded opponent in front of you. I might became old, but it doesn't mean that I can't beat you up."

He holds her piercing gaze and the right corner of his mouth twitches satisfied, but then he takes another look at the folder. "That's the information I had with me for today. I'm still waiting for the rest that's coming from my office. Have a nice day, Jane." He doesn't look at her again and passes her with a broad smile.

Jane closes her eyes for a second and takes a deep breath. She tells herself not to follow him and beat the shit out of him. She turns to Adam and shoves her index finger into his chest. "And you keep your hands off him when you want to keep your job, Laverty."

Anger is written all over his face and you can see that he wants to protest, but the young man knows better and keeps his trap shut.

Liz licks her lips and gets up from her chair. She doesn't know why but Ben's words felt like a threat and she doesn't like that at all. She walks over to the coffeemaker and grabs a clean mug, not caring about the presence of her mothers. She pours herself a cup of steaming coffee and is about to lift mug up to her lips.

"You really shouldn't work this case anymore." Jane says with a hushed voice and furrows her brows, looking down at the mug. "And you shouldn't be drinking that."

Liz considers the words of Jane and a low growl rumbles from her chest, sipping the hot beverage. "I'm not stopping to work this case, Ma. And this is my very first coffee for weeks."

Jane nods slowly and sighs heavily. "Look, I'm not only concerned because of you -"

"I know," the younger woman says before Jane has the chance to finish the sentence, turning to face her Ma. "I know, Ma, and I'm happy that you care so much about both of us. But this getting really personal and I won't shy away from all of this. And I hope that you're going to support me in my decision."

Jane can see the determination in the eyes of her daughter and takes a deep breath, nodding once. "Of course."

Liz sighs in relief and passes Jane with the cup in her hand. She catches the disapprovingly look of Maura, but is glad that her Mom keeps her words for herself. She reacts as soon as Chaz is passing her and grabs him at his elbow. "Chaz, can you do me a favor?"

He frowns a little and nods approvingly. "You know that you don't have to ask."

Jane rolls her eyes and drops her chin to the chest.

The younger Rizzoli starts smirking and quirks an eyebrow. "Please screen the Chief Prosecutor of Miami for me. His name is Benjamin Payton."

Chaz blinks a couple of times and looks at the others like he's asking if this is some kind of joke, but each of then looks serious at him. "Um, sure. Is there a reason why you want me to screen a Chief Prosecutor?"

"He's interfering in our case," she simply answers without looking at him, collecting her keys.

Adam crosses his arms over his chest and takes a step forward. "And where are you going?"

"I'll go and talk to my lawyer."

He blooms confused after his wife and catches the gazes of the others. "I didn't do anything."

"That's what men always say before they're getting divorced." Jane mutters and sits down on the chair that once belonged to her, sighing. "Oh, my. It's good to be back." She sees the skeptical look of her wife and smiles slyly. "I mean, temporarily."

Adam, Sam and Leslie smile to themselves and Maura just rolls her eyes.

Jane's shrugging with a grin and leans back in the chair.

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Liz arrives at the familiar place in the park and has to smile a little as soon as she spots the woman who's sitting on the bench and looks dreamily into nowhere. She takes a deep breath when she steps closer and nods at Danielle as she looks up at her. "Thank you for coming." Liz says and hands the other woman a paper cup before she's sitting down next to her friend.

"I only wish we'd meet up because we're friends and not because of work," the lawyer replies and is about to lift the cup to her lips. She stops abruptly and eyes the brunette skeptically. "We' re still friends, aren't we?"

"Of course we are." Liz scoffs and sighs. "I also wish we'd meet under other circumstances, Dani. Tomorrow, everyone is coming to our house. Why don't you come by too?"

"Is there a special occasion,," Danielle asks and takes a sip from the cup, frowning slightly.

Liz waves the question off and smiles wryly. "Nah, Adam just decided to set the nursery up and I invited everyone. Well, Sam, TJ and Chaz are going to help him. Us girls are going to sit around and have a nice time."

"Sounds good, I'm in." Danielle says and can see the devilish smile of the detective. "You have something in mind."

Liz comes out of her thoughts and hunch her shoulders. "I only had the idea to install a camera in the nursery so we could watch the guys when they're getting frustrated tomorrow."

"You bought the furniture at IKEA," the lawyer asks and chuckles amused when she sees the look of Liz. She shakes her head and takes a deep breath. "You know, I never thought that you'd be the first who gets married and start a family. I always thought that you would enjoy your time in freedom and focus on your career. And now look at you. You're married **and** pregnant." She pauses for a second. "To be honest, I'm a little jealous."

Liz turns her body a little and frowns with a smile. "It's not like you're about to turn fifty, Dani. You still have time to find Mr. Right for you and to start your own family."

The lawyer nods slowly and crosses her legs. "So, what can I do for you this time?"

Liz clears her throat and crosses her legs as well. "I know it's unlikely but have you ever heard about a Benjamin Payton?"

Danielle's eyes went huge and she turns her head to her friend. "Why are you asking about him?"

Liz looks confused at Danielle and is about to open her mouth, but then she shut it again as soon as she sees the other woman's staggered face. "He showed up at my house this morning and said that he's after the McIntosh cartel."

"I bet he said that." Danielle mumbles and empties the cup.

"What do you mean?" Liz asks and is beyond confused.

Danielle licks her lips and shifts a little. She looks long at the brunette and furrows her eyebrows. "Liz, you can't trust this man. There are rumors that he surrounds himself with dubious people even though he's the Chief Prosecutor of Miami." She pauses and lowers her voice. "Payton maybe claims that he's on your side, but you have to be careful. In California, it was proven that the McIntosh clan is enmeshed in organized crime and the prosecution had enough evidence to put all of them behind bars, but then key witnesses disappeared before Payton could press charges."

"That doesn't mean that Payton had to do with that." Liz argues with furled brows and tries to understand what her friend is implying.

"The witnesses had been kept in a safe house, Liz." The lawyer replies with an hushed voice and raises her eyebrows high. "Only prosecution and the cops who had been in attendance. Those said cops had been found dead. DA's office tried to find out who the mole was. At the end they had no other chance then to transfer Payton to Florida."

"And why didn't prosecution investigate Payton?"

"Payton knows many weighty people."

Liz let the information sink in and then everything starts to make sense. The first think that comes to her mind is the name Isles and a groan escapes from her throat as she leans back. Of course it weights a lot when someone says that they know Dr. Maura Isles, even more when the said someone says that he was married with Dr. Maura Isles. She can see the questioningly look of Danielle and a frown finds its way upon her forehead. "Payton is Mom's ex-husband."

Danielle's eyebrows shoot up high. "Shit."

"Yap." Liz agrees and nods slowly. Her eyes are also up high. She can't wait to hear what Maura has to say about that.


	16. Chapter 16

**I am so sorry for the delay, but thank you for following, favorite and reviewing this story. I hope you enjoyed the story so far and that you'll like this chapter.**

 **Enjoy.**

 **T73.**

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Jane growls low and slaps annoyed the hand of her brother away. "Frankie!" she warns him.

Frankie shakes his hand and furls his brows. "It's … Jane, let me help you."

She glares at him and shifts her weight from one foot to the other. "Come any closer and it's going to be the last barbecue your attending , bro."

Frankie opens his moth but then shuts it immediately when he sees the serious face of his sister.

Maura's sitting at a wooden table in Liz' yard and smiles to herself as she watches the siblings interacting.

Adam watches the same scene from the island in the kitchen and turns his head to his wife. "Are you sure that everyone is getting out if this in one piece?"

Liz smiles at him and pours herself a glass of water. "You should know by now that this puerility is a kind of their ritual. As long as Ma warns Frankie, everyone's safe."

He scoffs and walks up behind her, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Did you already tell Maura what Dani told you?"

Liz sighs loudly and keeps her eyes on Maura, who is smiling while Jane and Frankie argues. She just realized what Danielle's massage has been and doesn't know how to confront Maura with facts she can't prove by now. She knows all too well that Maura is a kind-hearted woman who tries to see the best in every human being. Telling her mother that she perhaps had misjudged her ex-husband is harder then she had thought. Liz starts to shake her head and takes a deep breath. "No. No, I haven't told Mom what Dani has told me about Payton." She pauses and shakes her head. "You know, I'm sure that Mom loved Payton once, and that she really beliefs that he's a good guy and I don't want to be the one who destroys that illusion."

He runs his hands down her arms and sighs heavily. "It's better she hears it from you instead of me or Jane. She knows that you would never hurt her purposely, Liz. You have an open mind in this whole thing."

"Do I," Liz asks with an breathy voice and looks up at him. "Am I really open-minded, Adam?"

Adam smiles down at her when she turns in his arms and nods approvingly. "Yes, you are. You didn't judge Payton right from the start."

"I didn't like him either." Liz replies with a little frown.

"Perhaps that's because how Payton introduced himself to us yesterday." He replies and shrugs thoughtfully. "And I don't like him either because he showed up like he did."

Liz nods as well and takes a deep breath. She scrutinizes his face and can't help the small smile that appears on her lips. "Sometimes I wonder if you are too good to be true."

"Sometimes I can be an ass too," he replies with a smile and shrugs.

She runs her hands over his shoulders and quirks an eyebrow. "I know, and I am glad about that. I don't want to be together with Mr. Nice Guy."

Adam tucks his chin in and furls his brows. "We are not just together, Liz. I hope that you still know that we're married."

"Right." She smiles and pulls his head down. "I almost forgot." She says before she closes the last gap of their lips. She sighs contentedly and has to smile a little as her heart skips a beat once again. She's still amazed that it happens even though they are married. In her previous relationships she never understood what her parents meant when they talked about the **right** partner and the love of their lives, but since she met Adam she really knows what they've been talking about. "I love you." She whispers as they pull away and smiles back as soon as she sees a smile playing on his lips. She doesn't mind that he don't say it back, all that matters to her is that she can see his love for her in his eyes and that she knows that there is no other woman in his life but her. She sighs and turns asks when someone clears their throat. Liz blushes a little and steps away from her husband when she looks into Danielle's face. "Dani, do you need something?"

The younger woman smiles at her friend and nods with perked eyebrow. "I was about to get myself water but didn't want to destroy your moment." She looks at the flustered man and tilts her head to the side. "Adam, Leslie's son is asking for you."

Adam looks down at the brunette and shrugs with a grin as he sees the skeptical look of his wife. "Damian knows what's good for him."

She rolls her eyes and nods sarcastically. "I'm not so sure about that, but you can note this as a experience of a soon-to-be father." She chuckles as he only holds his hand up and disappears in the yard.

Danielle laughs amused and walks to the refrigerator to get herself the mentioned bottle of water. "You sure that he doesn't have any brothers?"

"One hundred percent positive." Liz laughs and takes a swig of her water.

Danielle chuckles and then sighs dramatically. "You know, I'm not used that you like a man who's really nice. Every time I came to Boston to visit you, you had a jackass as boyfriend."

Liz smiles weakly and nods slowly. "Well, I -" She sighs and sits down on a bar stool. "Back then I was testing my parents and my own boundaries. The more my parents disliked the boys I was dating, the more I liked them. But neither of them had been a really serious relationship."

"Besides Will." Danielle states without a second thought.

Liz licks her lips and frowns. "The relationship with Will felt like he locked me up in a cage, especially after I got to know that he's gonna working with Ma. It wasn't a good relationship from the beginning. To be honest, I thought that Will and I rather would be -"

"Friends with benefits?" Danielle asks after the brunette trails off.

Liz takes a moment to think about the answer and shrugs. "Yes. But with time it was normal that I ended up with him in bed and then he started to call me his girlfriend, and with time it was okay for me."

"Did you know that he is loco?"

"Yes, that's why I dated William."

Danielle looks long at her friend and starts to laugh because she can hear the sarcasm dripping from the detective's vow.

Liz' laughing to herself and sighs with a thoughtful face. "I should have noticed it cuz Will and I barely spent a minute apart. That made it difficult to work with each other, there was always a pang of jealousy, even though there has been no reason. Even my colleagues started to dislike him …. And perhaps me too at some point. I don't know why I didn't listen to the voices in my head."

Danielle is silent for a moment and frowns deeply. "Thoughts in your head?"

The detective rolls her eyes and then she glares at glares at her friend. "You know, when you have a private discussion with your conscience." She pauses and shrugs. "And then Adam came into my life and he was so different. In the first place I thought he would be another idiot who tires to hit on me and try to get me into bed."

"Did he tell you that he'd work for you Ma?"

"As soon as I told him my full name."

Danielle chuckles amused and eyes the other woman. "It worked well."

Liz rolls her eyes but then she becomes serious again, running an hand over her forehead.

Danielle doesn't miss the move and licks her lips with a sigh. "Something else's bothering you."

Liz wiggles her brows and watches how Jane tries to shield the brazier from Frankie, who is about to take control of it. She takes a deep breath and starts to walk towards her mother. "Excuse me," she mumbles and feels the confused look of Danielle. A sudden feeling overcomes her and she has to swallow down the lump in her throat.

"Hey!" Frankie protests as the young woman pushes him aside without excusing and frowns.

The rude behavior of her daughter takes Jane by surprise and she is about to jump down on Liz' throat, but then her body went ridge for a slight moment as soon as her daughter engulfs her in a tight hug. Her body relaxes instantly and her face softens as she wraps her arms around Liz. Somehow, this gesture throws both of them back in the time when Liz was still a little child and climbed onto her lap after a long day of work. Back in the time when she was able to scoop Liz up in her arms, when she was the one who read a bedtime story of sang a lullaby until her little princess fell asleep.

Jane furrows her brows and rubs Liz' back soothingly and has to smile softly when she meets the soft hazel eyes of her wife.

"I love you, Mama." Liz murmurs into Jane's hair and holds close to her Ma.

A broad and soft smile finds its way on Jane's lips and she pulls a little back. She has the feeling like she holds her eight-year old daughter in her arms after a long work day. "I love you too, baby." She whispers back and kisses the side of Liz' head.

After they had eaten dinner and shared some funny and some sad stories, Jane's sitting in the grass and runs her fingers through the hair of her daughter, who had placed her head on her lap, looking up in the clear evening sky and frowning. "You know, this strikes me as slightly odd. Shouldn't your husband be doing this?"

Liz can't hide her amused smile and shrugs because she knows that her Ma enjoys this just as much as she does. She takes a deep breath and shrugs. "We did this almost every time when we had a barbecue."

"When you were a child," the older woman chuckles.

Liz wants to sit up but is pushed back by Jane immediately, chuckling. "Sometimes I miss this time. Only us, looking up in the sky and telling each other silly stories."

"I told silly stories." Jane laughs and sighs. "You told me not to be silly and explained to me the meaning of the constellations."

"God," Liz laughs and looks up at her mother. "I must have been such a smartass back then."

"You've been a very smart child, yes." Jane admits with a proud smile. "And it wasn't always easy because I already knew a know-it-all back then." She pauses and looks at Maura, who's involved in a very vivid discussion with the others. "But I don't regret anything." She pauses once more and looks concerned at her younger self. "Is there a particular reason why you are so sentimental?"

Liz sits up and brushes her hair to the side. "You mean beside the hormones that are flooding my entire body?"

"Yes," the older woman groans with a roll of her eyes.

Liz smiles for a moment and sighs. "Sometimes I feel like I didn't tell you often enough that I love you, of that I hugged you enough to show you how much I love you."

"Elizabeth," Jane says with a broad smile and her tough façade, she still prefers to keep up, melts. "Sometimes gestures tells a lot more than words can. Do you remember when I came home with a bruised chin?" She smiles as Liz touches her chin where once a bad bruise was. "Yeah, that's the exact spot. You told me that it isn't that bad and that it'll be okay soon, and you kissed it."

Liz wants to touch Jane's chin again and chuckles as the older woman slaps the ha away like she still can feel the pain. "And then I touched it again because it was fun how you flinched."

Jane groans and shakes her head. The evening she got the bruised chin, she felt like her head was about to explore.

"I also remember how Mom almost freaked out cuz you put me on a jet ski with you when we were on Hawaii." Liz says with a smile, shrugging.

"Yeah," the older woman agrees with a smile. "Well, you were ten."

"Yeah."

Jane studies the face of her daughter and can see the concern in it. "Okay, what is this about, kid?" She raises her brows when Liz looks surprised at her. "I might be a retired police officer but I still can read people. This isn't just being nostalgic."

Liz nods slowly and starts to wriggle her hands. She frowns and "When Mom was pregnant, have you been scared?"

"Oh, hell, yeah." Jane laughs and nods vehemently. "The pregnancy scared the shit out of me, Liz. I … I mean, we had to replan our lives, had to decide who'll carry the baby, you, and to discuss who was willed to step back from out jobs."

"And why didn't you carry me," Liz asks and frowns. "What kept you back?"

"My job." Jane answers without hesitance and shrugs. "Experiences had shown that I am a great target of lunatics and I thought that it would be more safe when Maura … I thought that Mom … I knew that Mom would tell you all the great stories of me even though I'm long gone. I knew that Mom could handle you and raise you to a good person. I never thought -" She stops herself and shakes her head, she doesn't want to go there anymore.

Liz understands and nods slowly. "Did the thought of you becoming a mother scare you?"

Jane's eyebrows shoot up high and she answers laughingly, "Oh God, yes, the thought scared me to death." She takes a deep breath and scrutinizes her daughter for a couple of seconds. "I was scared that I would suck as a mother and that I couldn't give you what you and your Mom needed, that I'd miss every single important event in your life because of my job. That I'd use the job as excuse if everything would get too much, and that I'd fail Mom's expectations. And sometimes I did, to be honest. But with time, I start to understand that neither Mom nor I ever could let you down because we had your uncles, and Korsak and your grandma. And so do you, Lizzy. Neither of us could turn you or Adam down if you come to us and ask for help. If you need us, we'll be there." She smiles softly when she sees the tears in the eyes of her daughter and sighs. "Becoming a mother is friggin' scary, Liz, and no matter how hard you try, you will make mistakes. But you will be anything but alone. If you need some advice or a babysitter, I'm sure you'll find enough helping hands."

Liz let the words sink in and nods slowly. She knows that her and Adam's family wouldn't hesitate to stand at their side if they call and ask for some help or a advice, but hearing it from her Ma's lips is soothing her somehow. She smiles a little and wipes a single tear off her cheek. "I know," she whispers and closes her eyes as soon as she feels Jane's lips on her forehead.


	17. Chapter 17

**I am so so sorry for the delay. I hope you guys are still with me.**

 **And of course, thank you for reading, following and for the favorites.**

 **I hope you'll like this chapter as much as I liked it to write. I had all kind of ideas in my head, but I like this version the most. And of course you can tell me what you think.**

 **However, enjoy.**

 **T73.**

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Liz groans annoyed as soon as the ringing of her phone reaches her brain and she wants to turn on her right side, but then she sighs heavily and looks wonders why her husband doesn't react as well, or why his phone isn't ringing just like hers.

She curses under her breath and runs an hand through her hair in the time she sits up. She looks to her right and sees that Adam's side is empty. She frowns but then she's thinking that perhaps her husband had a restless night and is downstairs right now. She roll her eyes and picks up her phone, telling the caller her name so they do know that they reached the one they wanted to. She listens carefully to the caller and her frown deepens.

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Liz is worried because Adam haven't been at home when she got out of the bed and downstairs, and for no reason he still doesn't answer his phone. On the way to the nee crime scene, where she had been called to, she considered to call nearby hospitals. Adam wouldn't be the first night-time runner who had stumbled and hit his head or broke a body part, and didn't have a ID with him. She knows that he can be really clumsy sometimes. But she didn't do so because she still has the hope that he drove to BPD and is already waiting for her at the crime scene. She tries to push her worries to the side and tells herself that she's silly. But in the same time something is troubling her, she is sure that the address of the crime scene is familiar to her. Either she already has read or has heard about the address.

Liz can see the blue lights of the patrol cars and ambulance in the distance already and she clenches her jaw. Normally her husband would be the one who's driving and who tries to talk her down. Maybe he'd be pissed because dispatch also called her.

She stops her car after she made her way to the front row and doesn't want to turn the engine off as soon as she sees the worried expression of Chaz, who stands with Frankie at the police tape. It gives the impression that they've been waiting for her and she wants to put her car into reverse, drive back home, not to look back, lock the front door behind her and to pretend that she never got that call. Liz isn't quite sure why she suddenly thinks that the victim is her husband and that her family and friends are there to assist her in distress. Suddenly, her mouth becomes dry and panic is starting to rise within her. Already once, she had to witness how the man, she loves more than her own life, died in front of her. Now seeing him dead for real, she wouldn't survive.

Liz closes her eyes and forces the tears back because she can't be sure that her worst fear is actually real. She jumps when someone's knocking at the window of the driver's door and turns her head to see who's bringing her back to reality. Her suspicion rises even more when she looks into the worried face of Leslie. She nods to herself and takes a deep breath and puts her hair into a bun before she kills the engine and gets out of the car. She swallows hard and looks long at her friend. She opens her mouth but not a word comes out of it.

Leslie lifts the tape and a frown on her forehead is clearly visible. "It's bad, Liz." She lays it on the line and wish that she wouldn't have to. "Really bad."

Liz let the words sink in, nods with pursed lips and tries to keep countenance, which is really hard for her in that moment. She sniffles and swallows down the lump in her throat. "I'll be fine." She whispers more to herself and puts a pair of gloves on.

Leslie nods as well and takes short look at Chaz, who's describing Frankie what had happened when he and she arrived at the address. "I know."

Frankie watches his niece walking by and stops Chaz mid-sentence, following Liz. "Elizabeth, you shouldn't be here," he says and catches up with her.

"I'll be fine." Liz repeats and this time her voice is stronger, and her face becomes a hard mask. If her husband has been killed for no reason, she needs to see it herself. In the same moment, she realizes that this isn't the district where Adam normally has his runs. They already live in a quite good neighborhood, but this one is upscale. She frowns and walks directly in the direction of the Medical Examiner who is in charge tonight. She stops abruptly when she hears a familiar voice saying, "Stop it, I'm more than fine. I don't need medical attention."

Liz' heart drops and she turns on her heals, heading in the direction of the ambulance. She rounds the back of the vehicle and is beyond glad to see Adam standing on his own feet, fighting a medic, but only shortly after the relief confusion is setting in and she wonders what the hell her husband is doing in this neighborhood. Skepticism sets in immediately and she wants to ask Adam why he's here.

"You shouldn't be here, Liz." Frankie says as he steps into her way and doesn't flinch as she glares at her. He grew up with Jane Rizzoli, it needs a lot more to humiliate him. "I don't even know why you got called in."

"Because operations knows that this is my case." Liz growls low and steps closer to her uncle as he doesn't move out of her way. "Please, let me talk to my husband."

"No," he replies resolutely and doesn't move. "And this is not your case. Go home, get some more rest. I'll see you tomorrow at the station."

Liz wants to protest but she can say that his instructions are final. She watches how two CSRU go over to Adam and that they give him instructions as well.

Adam nods and pulls his shirt over his head, then he puts his hands out and a flash light breaks the darkness.

Liz furls her eyebrows and then realization sets in. She's sure that she had seen red spots on his gray shirt and an uneasy feeling settles in the pit of her stomach. Liz takes a look around and then she remembers why she the address is familiar to her. She never has been here but she knows it from the McIntosh case. She and Adam are looking at each other and she knows that here's something terribly wrong. She turns away from him and heads in the direction of the ME.

"Liz," Frankie says louder and follows her. "Elizabeth, no!"

Adam's eyebrows shoot up and he gets up to his feet. "Liz!"

Liz ignores either man and stares down at the corpse. Its face is black and blue, and swollen. And the color drains from her face.

The ME, Melanie Allen, looks up at her and frowns. "Detective, do you know him?"

Liz nods slowly and then she fights the urge to close her eyes. "Yes, I do know him. His name is Cameron McIntosh. He was my number-one suspect in a murder case."

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"Lieutenant, this is still my case," Liz' voice comes out of the new lieutenant's office and Jane slows her steps, frowning because the door is closed. She looks at Maura and shrugs with an innocent smile.

Maura, on the other hand, just rolls her eyes. It's not like she never had witnessed that kind of conversations, but in the past her wife had been on the other side pf the door.

"It is no longer, Rizzoli." Lieutenant Kevin Williams replies as loud as the young woman did. He's just a little bit younger than Jane but just as stubborn. He and the former detective know each other since they graduated from the Academy. "And you are, sure as hell, not in the condi -"

"Oh, come on." Liz laughs bitterly. "Just because I am pre -"

That's the moment when Maura decides to knock to put this discussion to an end. Silence follows before Williams asks them in.

Maura is the first who enters the office and who glares at her daughter.

Liz stares in disbelief at her mothers and then she huffs, crossing her arms.

Frankie looks at his sister and shrugs with a guilty smile.

Jane swallows a growl and eyes her daughter. "Oh," she finally says harshly. "don't be a sorehead. What's going on," she asks and looks at each of the officers. And then silence settles over them.

Liz clenches her jaw and then she looks at Jane. "Cameron McIntosh got killed last night. He was beaten to death."

 _What a loss_ , Jane thinks but she doesn't say it out loud and her face also doesn't give her away. She raises her eyebrows because she can't understand the tohubohu.

Liz scoffs and her uncle rolls her eyes. "If you can remember, Cameron McIntosh was our number-one suspect in our current murder case, the one we wanted to interview but couldn't because he claimed immunity."

"I know exactly who Cameron McIntosh was," Jane replies sharply and shifts her weight from one foot to the other. "I still don't get why Maura and I should come here, and why we should bring a lawyer."

Frankie sighs heavily but doesn't say a word even though Maura, Jane, Liz and Williams look at him. He knows that every word could be wrong right now, that's why he keeps his mouth shut.

Williams gives both of his detectives to explain the situation and frowns when either of them remain silent. "When our unit arrived at Mr. McIntosh's address, the officers found Detective Laverty bent over the victim. He and his clothing has been covered in Cameron McIntosh's blood. And his hands are showing severe fresh bruising that fit with the victim's bruises."

"Bullshit," Liz says out loud and balls her hands into fists.

Maura blinks a couple of times and frowns deeply, something she barely does. She knows that Adam can be hot-blooded sometimes, but he never became aggressive. Neither in front of suspects nor in front of either of them. And she is sure that he wouldn't be able to kill someone with bare hands. But she also knows that she needs to stay objective tough her daughter wouldn't like it.

Jane, on the other hand, starts to laugh and looks at Williams like he must told a bad joke. "Adam Laverty," she asks and steps closer to the lieutenant's desk. "You're talking about Detective Adam Laverty, the one who couldn't hurt a fly?"

"He has been working out on our punching bag." Liz throws in with a high-pitched voice.

"So he's aggressive sometimes." Williams argues.

Liz realizes that he wants to use all of this against Adam, she doesn't even know why. "Frustrated." She agrees and nods. "Sometimes he's just frustrated as you and I or any of us are when a case seems to be so close to an end and than it starts all over again. But he would never beat someone to death. I trust Dete -"

"You are not objective, Rizzoli." Williams says louder and Liz tucks her chin in. "Neither is your uncle. That's why neither of you is working this case."

"But Dr. Isles and I am." Jane says clinically and ignores the gazes of her whole family. " Neither I nor my wife really trusted Detective Laverty. If he has something to hide, we'll find it."

Williams looks long at her. "You sure about it?"

"To keep my family safe? Hell, yeah."

He nods and licks his lips. "Fine."

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Adam's sitting at the metal table that stands in the middle of the interrogation room and knows that something is terribly wrong because he's sitting at the wrong side. He's frowning deeply and wrings nervously his hands. He can't explain what happened or why he's here right now, in this situation.

He flinches a little when the heavy door gets opened and wants to explain to whoever's coming in that all of this is just a big, fat misunderstanding. He turns his head and becomes pale when he looks into the stern face of Jane. His frown deepens and he blinks a couple of times. As far as he knows Jane isn't his lawyer nor is she a active officer. He swallows hard and his heart starts to beat wildly.

Jane doesn't give him the feeling that he's any different from other suspects and she doesn't treat him like the family member that he is. She only wants to know what happened and why Adam was the one who has been with the victim. She drops the flat file onto the desk and sits down at the other side of the table, not saying a word to her son-in-law. She leans back in her chair and crosses her legs, staring at him like she's waiting that he begins to speak. It is a tactical game that she always won in the past, but this time it is different. This time, the man in front of her knows quite well how to play that game because he's a cop, too, which means that this can go on for hours.

Meanwhile, Liz is watching the scenery through the one-way mirror and huff annoyed because neither her husband nor her mother is exchanging a single word. "This is beyond ridiculous," she growls and crosses her arms. "Adam did not kill Cameron McIntosh." She pauses and glares at Maura. "I can't believe that you allow any of this."

Maura's watching the same happening and licks her lips without looking at Liz. She also doesn't believe that Adam is the one who killed Cameron, but she knows that it's best to let Jane lead the interview instead of a biased detective who only wants to close the case.

"Give your mother time." Frankie says with confidence. "She'll find out what happened."

"And perhaps arrests an innocent man."

"Now, that is ridiculous." Maura snaps and scowls at Liz. "And you know that, Elizabeth. Jane will do anything to bring the real perpetrator to account for the murder of Cameron McIntosh."

"Do you really think that Adam would be able to hurt anyone on purpose," the younger woman asks sharply and points at the man on the other side of the mirror. "Do you really think that I am not able to see the true nature of any kind of human being?"

"You didn't know that your ex-boyfriend was a serial killer," Frankie mumbles and shrugs as both women glare at him.

"Not helpful." Maura hisses and sounds almost like Jane, though she knows that he isn't wrong at all. But with Adam she knows that her only daughter is in good hands and that she doesn't have to worry about Liz' well-being.

Jane licks her lips and shifts a little in her seat. "Do you wanna tell me what happened?" She finally breaks the silence with her question.

"I did not kill Cameron." Adam replies with raised eyebrows and emphasizes every single word with a tap of his index finger on the table.

Jane let the words sink in and nods slowly, frowning. "Alright, let's start at the beginning. Why have you been at the house of Cameron McIntosh's house in the middle of the night?"

Adam hesitates before he shrugs and answers, "He called me one hour before I got to the crime scene."

"Why?"

"I don't know. He asked me if I am also investigating in the cases of Amanda and Melissa and when I agreed he asked me if we could meet." He runs an hand through his hair and closes his eyes briefly. "I told him to come to the station in the morning so we can talk, but he insisted that it should be tonight. I agreed and he told me where to meet. Now, in retrospective, it was just stupid to meet him at his place. It was a rookie mistake."

Jane wants to agree with him but she's biting her tongue right now. She takes a deep breath and furrows eyebrows. "He didn't mention why he wanted a meeting at such time of the night?"

He blinks a couple of times and shakes his head. "Not exactly. Cameron only said that he knows details about the women's murders and that can't live that way of life no more. That enough would be enough."

She looks long at him and presses her lips together. "Has anyone witnessed the said phone call?"

"No," he groans and leans back in his chair. "I was downstairs when I got his call. I couldn't sleep and went to the basement to blow off some steam at the punching bag. And I didn't want to wake Liz."

"That's why your hands are bruised."

He looks down at them and balls them. "Yes, I only tapped them. And at some point I … got carried away."

"Did you drive to Cameron's house?"

Adam shakes his head and sighs. "No, I took this meeting as an opportunity to go for a run. I mean, it was a good distance and a good idea in that moment. It wasn't an official meeting after all."

Jane looks seriously at him and chews the inside of her cheek. "What happened when you arrived at Cameron's place?"

"I don't know what happened before I arrived, but I found him in the driveway on the ground, pretty bad beaten up. I went over to check on him but he was barely alive, that's why I tried to help by giving him CPR. And then, three minutes later a patrol car stopped and the officers yelled at me to step back."

"You're pretty sure about the time until police arrived."

"I didn't mean it literally."

Jane sighs and looks long at him. Also she isn't convicted that he did kill the number-one suspect, but she wants to see how he's reacting when she gives him some more information. "Neighbors told the police that they've heard Cameron yelling _Please, Laverty. Stop and I'll tell you everything you want_. They said that he yelled that a couple of times."

"That's nonsense," he says calmly and scoffs. "No one yelled anything when I arrived. And … why should I kill him?"

Jane turns the corners of her mouth downward and quirks an eyebrow. "Because he threatened your wife and your friends more than one time. Elizabeth is pregnant, wouldn't you do anything for her to keep her and your unborn child safe?"

Now, Adam's face turns dark and he leans forward, growling through gritted teeth, "I would k -" He stops himself because he realizes that he's about to take the bait. He leans back again and raises his hands a little. "I would do anything for either of them just to keep them safe, family and friends. But I would never commit a murder just because some jackass tries to humiliate them. I **know** that my wife's quite capable to protect herself, and so are our friends and our families. And we have ways and means to keep people like Cameron McIntosh at arm's length. Killing somebody off is not a option."

Jane sighs while she's scrutinizing him for a couple of seconds. "What about the blood?"

"What about it?"

"How did it get on your clothes?"

He scoffs and runs an hand over his beard. He knows that she's trying to catch him lying. "I already told you that I gave Cameron CPR. That's how I got his blood on my clothes." He shakes his head and furrows his brows. "Jane, I swear, I have no idea what happened to McIntosh or why I'm sitting here. I would never, **never** , hurt someone for no reason."

"Cameron killed at least two women."

"That's why we investigated against him. To put McIntosh behind bars and to bring justice to the victims and their families." He pauses and holds his hands up once more. "Take everything you need, all kind of evidence. I've got nothing to hide."

"That we will do." Jane says and gets up from her chair. She's about to leave the room but then she turns back to him. "You know the thrill, Adam."

Adam looks long at her and nods once. "I won't go anywhere."

Jane doesn't respond to that and leaves the interrogation room with hesitance.


	18. Chapter 18

Jane's fist official act is to send Liz back home though the long discussion she expected didn't come. Liz tried to convince her mother that she'll be fine, but one single glare of Jane made her grabbing her belongings and leaving the bullpen.

Jane's glad that Liz left without a big fight and that she now can focus at the _case_. She's also beyond glad that Maura immediately said that she'd perform the autopsy at Cameron McIntosh. She's sure that the MEs, who now work at BPD are competent but none of them are Dr. Maura Isles.

Jane sighs loudly and makes her way towards the glass board that she knows by heart. Unfortunately it isn't the first time that a photo of someone is pinned to it, who appears to be a murderer. It's true, she didn't like Adam in the first place, but she doesn't believe that he'd be able to hurt someone very deliberately. If she'd knew that, she'd have done anything to keep him as far away from her daughter as possible.

She tilts her head to the side while she's studying the details that Frankie and the others already had gathered and furrows her eyebrows. Something's bothering her and that's the fact that her son-in-law, who even can't harm a fly, shall be a killer. It's not that Adam wouldn't be physically capable of doing so, but it's not his nature, and that's what she knows as well.

Jane sits down at the edge of her former desk and crosses her arms.

"What is it, " Frankie asks and takes a sip from his steaming coffee.

Jane doesn't look at her brother and shakes her head. "I don't believe that Adam is able of doing this." She mumbles more to herself with another sigh. "You don't believe that either, do you?"

"No," he replies and sighs as well. "No, I don't believe that either, Jane. Where do you wanna start?"

Jane doesn't answer right away because she's asking herself the same question. It's been a while since she investigated a case. She looks at him and nods at a crime scene photo. "I'd like to take a look at the crime scene first."

Frankie nods slowly and walks towards his desk, taking his jacket from the back of his chair. "I'm driving."

The older Italian rolls her eyes but can't hide her smile. She follows Frankie and hunch her shoulders. "Fine."

He smiles triumphantly and push the elevator button.

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Liz' sitting on the couch and looks down at the notes of the newest crime scene, that she has taken before she realized that her husband is the prime suspect of Cameron McIntosh's murder. She licks her lips and hates that she has been sent home without the chance of helping in the case.

Danielle comes into the house without knocking and frowns because her friend's front door wasn't locked. Frost has taught her that it's important to lock it after leaving the house or after coming back home. She always got into a lot of trouble when she left the door unlocked. That's why she can't believe that Jane gives Liz a pass on that. She walks into the living room and finds Liz on the couch, seeing that Adam's arrest makes Liz feel low. Danielle sighs and places an brown bag right in front of the brunette in the hopes that she'll get the attention of the detective. She nods at the notes that are splayed on the table. "I guess you haven't eaten yet."

Liz blinks a couple of times and leans back a little, saying, "I'm not very hungry right now."

"Maura told me that you'd say that." The other woman replies and starts to take the containers out of the bag. "And she also told me that it doesn't matter what you want, you have to eat." She pauses and quirks an eyebrow. "And somehow I suddenly sound like my own mother."

Liz isn't able to suppress a small laugh but then she turns serious again. She opens one of the containers. She smiles again and looks thankfully at Danielle. "Chinese?"

Danielle smiles, shrugs and sits down next to the detective. Somehow, she can understand that Liz feels frustrated. When she got the call of her friend she didn't hesitate and called Maura just to hear that Liz didn't camp it up.

She sighs and places an hand on Liz thigh. "I know you don't wanna hear it, but ... Adam didn't ask for a lawyer or union representative."

Liz closes briefly her eyes and forces her tears back. She knows exactly how stubborn her husband can be when he thinks that he's on the safe side, and suddenly the feeling of hunger is gone again. "What a moron," she mumbles to herself and doesn't look at the lawyer.

Danielle presses her lips together and turns in her seat so she can look better at Liz. "I can plead his cause anyway."

The brunette glances long at her and scoffs humorlessly before she furls her eyebrows. "At first I had to ask you to plead my cousin's case because he's accused of murdering his one-night stand, and now I have to ask you the same thing because my **husband** is accused of killing our number-one suspect." She stops and swallows hard, looking at the lawyer. "How likely is that for you?"

"Extremely unlikely," Danielle replies meekly and takes a deep breath. "It sound more like someone's gunning for you ... For whatever reason."

"Yeah, for whatever reason," the detective repeats and looks down at her lap, shaking her head. "Maybe Ma was right, I shoulda bow out of the case before it became that big. But no, I had to be stubborn because Ma said so. And now, not only my life is a heap of ruins ... Amanda's family is ruined as well, and Melissa's and even Cameron's."

"Are you starting to feel sorry for the McIntosh's?"

"It doesn't matter that Cameron was a dick, he didn't deserve to get killed."

"He was a killer too."

"So, an eye for an eye?"

"No," Danielle responds and hunch her shoulders. She opens her mouth to say something else but is stopped by a knock on the door.

She gets up to her feet and points at her friend. "You stay put and eat just a little bit, I get this."

Liz snickers and gets the container, that she had abandoned again, back into her hand. "Yes, Mommy."

The lawyer rolls her eyes with a smile and walks to the door, opening it. She looks long at the person in front of her, quirks an eyebrow and crosses her arms. "What are ya doing here?"

Sam glares at her and pushes himself past Danielle into the house. "Nice to see you too." He grumbles and looks out for his cousin. "I heard this about Adam. Is it true? He's arrested for killing Cameron McIntosh?"

Danielle presses her lips together and nods slowly to answer his questions. "Yes, it's true."

"You're gonna help him?"

"I will. But firstly I keep an eye on Liz."

He frowns deeply and shifts his weight from one foot to the other. "How is she?"

"Devastated," she replies without hesitance and follows Sam into the living room.

Sam slows his steps as soon as he spots Liz sitting on the couch and staring at the container like she doesn't exactly know what to do with it. He already has seen her frustrated, pissed, even heartbroken, but never as distraught like right now. He steps closer and says softly, "Lizzy."

Liz looks up and something deep inside her changes. She feels the need to be held by her cousin and gets up from the couch.

He gets the hint and stands in front of her in no time, engulfing Liz in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry, Liz." He whispers and holds her even closer. "I promise, we'll set the record straight again."

Liz hugs him back and closes her eyes, nodding slowly. She presses her lips together to suppress a sob but can't because deep sadness takes over her.

He pulls away slightly and heave a sigh as he looks at her. He frowns as guilt takes over him and wants to say something, but doesn't do so because his cousin starts to shake her head.

"It's not your fault." Liz says like she read his mind.

"Yes, it is." Sam replies ruefully and drops his gaze to the floor.

"No," she says and kisses his forehead to ease his conscience. "it's not, Sam."

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Jane wraps her coat tighter around herself and shudders a little. She looks up at the crystal blue sky and wonders why Adam would go out for a run when it's freezing cold. She shakes the thought of because he already told her that he was sleepless and needed something to do to get rid of his spare energy and he also told her that Cameron called him to have a talk. She doesn't have any reason not to believe him. When it comes to lying, Adam is just as bad as her wife.

She walks to the silver BMW and runs the fingers of her left hand over a clearly visible dent. "Looks like McIntosh's head has been beaten against the car." She mumbles more to herself. "To shanghai him?" She straightens up and looks at the surrounding houses. "Why not knocking him out completely? Frankie, which neighbor stated that they heard Cameron yelling Adam's name?"

Frankie frowns a little and points at the house at the end of the street. "It was Walter Robinson, down the street."

Jane shoves her hands into the pockets of her coat and furrows her eyebrows, looking at her brother. "Mr. Robinson must have some ears. How was he able to hear Cameron's cries for help when he's living down the street. And he was the only one who gave a statement?"

Frankie nods approvingly and then he groans loudly. It appear that each of them have missed some details in the heat of the moment. "Yes," he growl low. "Wanna have a chat with Mr. Robinson?"

The former detective still looks at the house but then she turns around and start to head towards the unmarked car. "Not yet. I don't want to betray our state of investigation, and i wanna know what Maura has to tell us. Get the damn BMW to the garage, would you."

Frankie follows her and gets his phone from its holder. "You got it." He says before he gives his instruction to the person he's calling.

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Maura sighs heavily and pulls off the pair of gloves that she's wearing. She has to admit that she missed a real autopsy every now and then, but not so much the impatient behavior of her wife. She licks her lips and takes her time before she directs her attention to the waiting brunette. She has to contain a smile because Jane's chewing on the nail of her thumb like she did in the past.

The Italian rolls her eyes and steps closer to the metal table. "Well?"

The doctor scowls at Jane and hunch her shoulders. "It's clear as day, death was caused by blunt force trauma to the skull. I also found several hematomas on his torso and legs."

"Like the killer kick Cameron?"

"Yes."

Jane takes the information in and furls her eyebrows. "What about defensive wounds?"

Maura shakes her head and takes a second before she answers, "I didn't find any."

"That's strange."

"It is indeed."

Jane studies her wife and turns the corners of her mouth downward. "Normally I would start to defense myself when a man I barely know starts to to swing at me. Especially when the said person is as tall as Adam and is head and shoulders above me." She pauses and bends slightly over Cameron, studying the bruised face of the young man. "It seems like Cameron endured the beating so he could claim that Adam did this to him because he didn't give him the answers Adam like to hear. A reason to sue BPD, and a chance to discredit him and Elizabeth."

Maura walks to her wife and sighs loudly. "And how are we gonna prove that?"

"I don't know yet." Jane admits in a low voice and presses her lips together. "But I think we have to start at the beginning, which means that I wanna talk McIntosh senior. As soon as possible."

The doctor nods and takes her phone in her hand, dialing a number. "I call Peter."

"Thanks," the Italian says but doesn't look very happy about that.

Peter Parrish is Maura's lawyer who can arrange meetings for her wife which are quite dicey. And he never hides the fact that he's interested in Maura even though he knows that the doctor is happily married.

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Liz stands behind the kitchen island and laughs amused. She's glad that neither Danielle nor Sam left her alone after they made sure that she's still breathing. She's sure that she'd sit on the couch and look for the answers that she has been missing during the last couple of weeks. She fills the bowl with chips and brings it together with two beers into the living room.

Sam and Danielle are thanking her for the drinks and both frown because Liz doesn't seem like she wants to share the snack.

"Are you ... gonna it that alone," Sam asks and smiles sheepishly.

She looks briefly at the bowl and furrows her brows. "Yes. Why?"

Danielle takes a large sip of her beer before she gets the chance to laugh.

Sam purses his lips and shakes his head, sipping his beer before he can laugh.

Liz tucks her chin in and scowls at both of them. She shoves a chip into her mouth and chews pointedly on it. "You said that you want me to eat something."

"Anything but **that** ," he laughs and the lawyer joins him. "Maura would be horrified."

"She doesn't need to know." Liz replies with a sly smile.

"Sounds like the time you had a boyfriend in California." Danielle laughs and wiggles her eyebrows. "It was the last time you visited us and you've sworn me to secrecy. What was his name? Matthew?"

"Michael." Liz corrects her and quirks an eyebrow.

"Michael," the other woman laughs amused.

Sam looks at both women and furls his brows. "Who's Michael?"

"No one." Liz answers.

"He was Liz' vacation love a couple years ago." Danielle says at the same time and smirks for a moment, ut then she turns serious again. "Do you miss it sometimes?"

Liz takes a sip from her soda and frowns. "Miss what?"

"Being wild and free." Danielle says and frowns.

Liz thinks about the question and looks deep into her heart. She doesn't need to think twice and shakes her head. "No, I don't miss it, Dani. I know that Adam is a good person and that he'll be a wonderful father for our child." She stops and hunch her shoulders. "I knew that I would fall in love with him the first time I met him. He ... he didn't try to have it off with me in the first place."

Sam clears his throat and gets up from the couch. "That's my cue to leave." He says and the women start to laugh. He waves his hand and walks towards the kitchen. "I don't need to hear anything of my cousin's sex life. Who's like my sister, by the way."

Liz starts to laugh heartily and shrugs. Ignoring his objection, she continues, "After our first dates he also didn't show the slightest inclination to kiss me, which really frustrated me. I started to believe that Adam's only interested in friendship with me."

"What made you think otherwise?"

"Every time we went out for drinks, he had eyes only for me. A couple of women tried to hit on him, but he always told them that he has company and that it's rude to disturb us." Liz licks her lips and shakes her head with clenched jaw. "Adam is ... He is my safe haven, Dani. Every time when I get a little hot-headed, he manages to calm me down again." Her voice falters and she wipes a tear off her cheek that escaped from her eye without permission.

Danielle furrows her eyebrows and tries to find words to calm her friend down, but she can't come up with anything. She doesn't have the impression that Adam is a thuggish or that he has a short fuse. She doesn't know him as long as TJ, Maura, Sam or Jane, but she's sure that each of them would keep Liz away from such a person. Hell, even she would protect Liz from such a person. She isn't quite sure why everyone loves Liz from the beginning, it's like she put a spell on someone, but she knows why she'd fight for the brunette til the end. She would never say it out loud, but she also sees Liz more like a sister than a friend.

Everyone turns their heads to the door when someone rings the doorbell and Sam has nothing else to do than to ask, "Are you expecting your lover, Lizzy?"

Liz rolls her eyes and gets up from the couch. "Yes, Sammy." She replies. "You know, when the cat is away, the mice will play."

Danielle chuckles and sips her beer.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah." Sam laughs and flops down next to the lawyer.

Liz smiles broadly when she opens the door of her house, but that changes instantly. "What the fuck are you doing here?"

Danielle and Sam exchange questioningly looks before they get up and join Liz at the door.

Danielle instantly steps in front of Liz to protect her from any kind of harm and Sam pulls Liz back even more.

Ben looks at each of them and smirks. "Look at that, the three musketeers."

Danielle's face darkens and she crosses her arms. "Payton, why are you here?"

He takes a deep breath and hunch his shoulders. "I heard that Detective Laverty got arrested for the murder of Cameron McIntosh. I just wanted to see if it's true."

"So you can delight in this?"

"I just wanna help."

"Thank you," Liz says and steps up. "but no, thank you. My husband and I have all the help we need. The last time I trusted you, my case went down the drain."

"You blame me for that?" Ben asks laughingly and drops his chin to his chest. "I'm on your side."

"Are you?" Danielle hisses and frowns. "Are you on our side?"

"Yes, Counselor." He says with a wryly smile. "I am here to help."

"Like you helped your friend Cameron?" Sam growls and steps closer.

Danielle holds an hand up and he stays back. "I think it's better for you to leave ... **Counselor**."

Ben looks at each of them and nods slowly before he turns around, but then he stops and looks threateningly at Liz. "You should keep an eye on your mothers, Elizabeth. Especially on Jane."

Liz wants to yell at him, she wants to beat the shit out of him, she wants to send him packing, but she stands in the door like she's frozen and steps back.

'You better leave now." Sam growl and balls his hands. "Before I forget myself." He slams the door and turns to the women. He frowns deeply when he sees his cousin.

Danielle looks worridly at her friend and cups Liz' face with both of her hands, trying to make contact with her. "Liz, honey, try to breathe, all right."

Liz looks panicky at Danielle and is gasping. It almost appears that she's in labor and she digs her nails into Danielle's arm. "I ... I can't breathe." She gasps. "I can't breathe."

Sam status to panick and his eyes went huge. "Is she ... Is she about to give birth?"

Danielle reads Liz' eyes and shakes her head. "No. No, Liz has a panic attack. Get your car, Sam."

"Why? Can't you calm her down?"

"Get your damn car, for God's sake!"

"Alright," he yells and throws his hands up.

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Maura tries to ignore her impatient wife while she's working on a sample. Every now and then she sighs dramatically and hope that the former detective leaves to get them coffee, or at least some kind of beverage.

Jane opens her mouth to snap something but she shuts it again as soon as her phone starts to buzz. She frowns and takes it from its holder. She reads the text and her eyebrows shoot up. "What the fuck?"

Maura still doesn't like that kind of language but the expression of her wife makes her worry. "Jane, what is it?" She senses that something's more than wrong and steps closer. "Jane?"

Worry is written over Jane's face when she looks at her wife.

" **Jane**!"

The Italian blinks a couple of times and frowns deeply. "I think we have a Lydia 2.0."

"Oh no."

"We need to go upstairs."

Maura doesn't need to be told twice and hurried towards the elevator.

As soon as the couple arrives at the conference room, Jane looks at the officer and nods to him. She has noticed her daughter who has been waiting for her. She sighs and opens the door for Liz. "Give them a minute, alright."

"I'll come in with ya."

"Really?" Danielle asks and glares at him. "I think more than one police officer would be exaggerated. We're not planning a prison break."

He hesitates and nods before he opens the door.

Liz enters the room and frowns, wringing nervously her hands. She doesn't know what to think or how to act.

Adam gets up from his chair and swallows hard. "Elizabeth."

"What did we get ourselves into?" She croaks.

"I don't know."

"Did you hurt him? Did you hurt Cameron?"

He shakes his head and frowns. "All I did to him was giving CPR." He pauses and smiles a little. "Are you here to interview me. Because if that's the case, I want to talk to my lawyer."

Liz doesn't smile. "This is not funny."

"No, it isn't." He says and takes a deep breath. "They'll take me in pre-trial detention."

She blinks a couple of times. "They can't do that, you're a cop, Adam."

"I see that your panic attack is over."

"It just starts."

Adam steps closer but keeps his distance in the same time. "I need you to calm down, for the sake of our baby."

Liz closes her eyes and unhales deeply so she can keep her emotions at bay. "And I need the baby's father alive and in one piece."

He presses his lips together and nods slowly, stepping a little closer.

Jane rolls her eyes and crosses her arms as soon as she sees the officer coming closer. "I will break your legs if you come one step closer." She growls through gritted teeth.

The poor man steps back again and looks scared at the older woman.

Adam snickers and wraps his arms around his wife. "I'll come home in one piece. I promise

Liz smiles and wraps her arms around his neck, heaving a sigh. She closes her eyes and whispers "I love you, Adam."

Adam smiles and nods. Then he looks at Jane and takes a deep breath. "You take good care of her until I'm back home?"

Jane nods slowly and smiles at her daughter. "Of course."

Adam frowns and nods as well. He breaks the hug and straightens up. He heaves a sigh and glances at the officer. "Let's get this done."

The other man nods hesitantly and pulls the door open without saying a word.

Liz' heart tightens painfully when her husband turns to leave and breathing becomes nearly impossible for her. She wants to plead that he shouldn't leave but her voice fails.

She closes her eyes as soon as Adam leaves the room and braces herself with her hand on the wooden table.

Adam leaves without looking at her once again.

Jane clenches her jaw and walks to her daughter. She helps Liz sitting down and places an hand on her shoulder. She knows exactly how her daughter's feeling right now and that no word can make her feel better. She sighs heavily and sits down next to her, turning her head when the door gets opened once again. She waits until Sam, Maura and Danielle are in the room and frowns. "What happened?"

Sam looks at Danielle and asks her silently if she wanna tell the story, but she refuses by hunching her shoulders. He rolls his eyes and raises his brows. "Um, well ... Dani and I paid Liz a visit so she isn't alone the whole time and we started to have a good time. We laughed and shared some stories. And then someone rang the doorbell and Liz answered it. And before we could do anything, she was talking to Ben Payton."

Jane's head snaps up and her expression darkens.

"What," Maura asks with an high-pitched voice and steps closer. "What did he want?"

Danielle clears her throat and takes a deep breath. "Payton said that he heard about Adam and that he can help us, pretended that we'd be on the same side."

"And then I sent him packing after he didn't come up with anything useful. It seemed to me like he only wanted to delight in Liz' misery."

"And then, Liz started to hyperventilate." Danielle adds and Sam nods approvingly.

"I'm gonna kill him." Jane growls and wants to get up to her feet. She stops when she feels an hand around her wrist and looks puzzled at her daughter.

Liz swallows hard and shakes her head, but she can clearly see that it doesn't change her mother's mind. But all she needs right now is to know what happened to Cameron and how long it'll take until they can prove that her husband is innocent.

Jane takes a deep breath and helps Liz up to her feet. "Come on," she says without looking at Maura and places protectively an hand on her daughter's back. But deep inside her anger is boiling and she decides that she'll stop by at Ben's place and that she makes him understand to stay away from her family.


	19. Chapter 19

**Thank you for your kind words and I hope that you still like this story. I also hope that this answers some questions. I know it's a short chapter, but I hope you like it.**

 **As always, I'd like to hear what you think.**

 **Thank you.**

 **T73.**

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Jane sits at the table that stands in the yard and rolls the beer she's sipping every now and then between her hand absentmindedly. She ignores the fact that it's actually too cold to sit outside and thinks about everything that has happened today. She thinks about the fact that her daughter really doesn't need that kind of stress and that the man her daughter loves is sitting in prison right now, in ad seg. She knows exactly how Liz feels right now and she hates it. She never thought that Liz would go through the same like she did years ago, and if she's honest with herself, she has no idea how to take the heat off Adam. Every time they make a step forward, their key witness has the habit to die. She hopes that she can contradict McIntosh senior and prove that he and his company is anything but clean, but she doesn't have high hopes. Too long he already runs this kind of business. And then there is still Ben Payton, who apparently is on McIntosh's pay roll. The man who has the nerve to harass her daughter and to threaten her. She presses her lips together and wince a little when someone places an woollen blanket over her shoulders. She looks up and her heart warms again when she looks into soft hazel eyes. She leans back and closes her eyes, enjoying Maura's caresses. "I don't know what to do, Maura." She admits and shakes her head. "I don't know how to prove that Adam's innocent."

Maura sighs and runs her hands over her wife's shoulders. "You'll find a way, honey."

"And what if I don't," the Italian asks and looks up. "What if this is the end? What if that's the reason why our family breaks apart? Liz will hate me if I don't get Adam out of this."

"No, she won't."

"Oh, she will. I needed a long time to understand that she isn't a child anymore."

"It's hard to ignore the fact because she is very pregnant."

Jane suppress the urge to growl and takes Maura's hand in her own, squeezing it. "Since the day you gave birth to Elizabeth I sit in the yard and worry about her. I sat outside and pictured how I'd react when she comes to us with her first boyfriend. I ... always thought that she'd be my little girl forever and that I welcome the boy, who's after her, with my gun."

Maura nods slowly and squezzed Jane's shoulders. "Liz is still your little girl, Jane."

Jane clenches her jaw and shakes her head, kissing the back of her wife's hand. She closes her eyes and tries to tell herself that everything's gonna be alright. She takes a deep breath and looks back up when she feels another squeeze of Maura's hand. She forces herself to smile so she can reassure her wife that she'll do anything to get Adam out of prison again.

Jane takes a deep breath before getting up from the chair.

Maura frowns deeply and looks puzzled at her wife. She can see in Jane's eyes that she's about to do something impetuous. "Jane -"

The Italian cups the smaller woman's face and kisses her gently, saying, "I'll be fine, Maura, it'll be fine. I promise."

"Don't do anything stupid." Maura says louder as her wife passes her.

Jane smirks and looks over her shoulder. "Maura, you know me."

The other woman rolls her eyes and can't help the laughs that passes her lips. "That's why I'm saying it."

Jane's laughter roars in the empty house and she raises an hand goodbye.

The smile dies on Maura's lips and she wraps the gray cardigan even tighter around herself. The voice in the back of her mind tells her that the Italian is about to do something incredible stupid and that she has to trust Jane like she always did.

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Liz sighs heavily and takes a look at the clock on the wall. Somehow, she's glad that Danielle and Sam just dropped her of and left immediately because she doesn't want to have any kind of company right now. She isn't quite sure what happened right after Ben paid her another visit, all she remembers that panic washed over her because she has seen unscrupulousness in his eyes. She never has seen something like that in the eyes of a prosecutor who has a clean conscience, and that's what worries her. He has the possibility to make sure that Adam comes out of ad seg, which is beyond threatful.

She exhales sharply and snaps the book in her hand shut. She tried to focus on the letters but all the could think of was the case and how wrong everything went. Liz closes her eyes and runs an hand through her hair before she gets up from the couch. She switches the light downstairs off and frowns when she reaches the bottom of the stairs. Normally she would be glad for getting a little break and that her family and friends oblige her wish that she wants to be alone, but right now she feels more than alone, and that's something she isn't used to. If she wouldn't be pregnant, she would grab her keys and drive to one of her favorite pubs and drink until the morning light.

Liz licks her lips and is tempted to grab her phone and to write Leslie or Chaz a message so one of them comes by. She laughs humorlessly and shakes her head, walking up the stairs. She doesn't want to bother any of her friends because it's already too late. And she also thinks that their already doing enough for her.

"Come on, Liz." She says to herself and starts to walk. "You can handle a couple of hours by yourself. It'll be alright again." She nods slowly and places an hand on her belly. "Well, you're not completely alone, are you?" She furrows her brows and chuckles. "And now you start to get crazy."

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Jane stops Maura's Mercedes SLS AMG GT in front of the Seaport Boston Hotel and quirks an eyebrow. She knows all too well that a normal prosecutor would never to put up at that kind of hotel, they couldn't afford it even if they want to.

She unbuckles her seatbelt and hopes that Maura's car doesn't have any dent or scratch right now because then she'll be killed by her lovely wife. She clears her throat and gets out of the car. She doesn't need to think about the staff, it's not the first time she comes to this place, but normally she's behaving properly so she doesn't embarrass Maura or Liz. Some things have never changed, like the fact that she never felt comfortable at places like this, but that didn't mean that she never went to those places because she never learned how to turn down the wishes of one of her favorite girls.

Jane suppresses a growl and smiles friendly at a man, nodding. She doesn't need to ask for the direction of the restaurant, she enters it and doesn't look for far too long for the person of her interest. She ignores the puzzled looks of the staff and walks straight to a round table at which Ben Payton is sitting with some well-dressed men. She sits down at the free chair that stands right next to Ben without saying a words and smiles sweetly when she sees his baffled look. "I'm sorry that I'm late." She says innocently and smiles at the strange men. "I hope that I'm not interrupting something important." She recognizes at least one man, McIntosh senior. He looks as surprised as Ben and becomes pale.

Jane snaps a glass of wine from the waiters hand and takes a healthy sip from it. She frowns and says with a laugh, "Where are my manners? Let me introduce myself. My name is Lieutenant Jane Rizzoli."

The other men turn deadly silent and throws threatening looks at Ben.

"Well," she laughs and waves her hand. "actually, I'm no Lieutenant anymore, but I thought I'll pay my old friend Ben a little visit. We have a very interesting story." She smirks and leans forward. "Did the gentlemen know that Mr. Payton's ex-wife is the former Chief Medical Examiner of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts?" She pierces McIntosh sr with her gaze. "Currently she's working your son's death, Sir."

The older man doesn't say a word and gets up from his chair, being followed by his people.

Ben shifts uncomfortably in his seat and frowns deeply. "What the hell are you doing? How did you find me?"

Jane's smile drops and her face turns dark. "I also have my ways and means, Ben." She replies and it's true. She had asked Chaz to find out where Ben's currently staying, that's why she's here now. 'And I **know** how to protect my family."

"Even if it means to get me killed?"

"I don't give a damn about you."

"What would Maura say about that?"

Jane's facial muscles twitch because she wants to say that she even doesn't care about what Maura would think, but that would be a lie.

His face relaxes and he leans back. "She doesn't know that you're here, does she?"

She skids closer and lowers her eyebrows. "Don't you dare talking about Maura like she's still your business." She growls through gritted teeth.

He smiles cockily and trails his chin with his fingers. "Jane, Maura never stopped to be my business. I knew that you'd be her downfall. And look at that, her son-in-law is in jail for the murder of Cameron McIntosh. Very good job, **detective**."

Jane blinks a couple of times and tries to make sense of the few information she already got. "Is this all about revenge? You do all of this just because I snatched Maura from you?"

He leans back in his chair and takes a sip of his own wine. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"You're corrupting yourself just to take revenge. Does McIntosh know for what you're using his men, his son?"

"This isn't only about revenge, Jane. This is about disempowerment of the McIntosh clan and its hostile takeover. I am not working for this dirty old bastard, but that's what I like him to think."

Jane resists the urge to grab him at his collar and to slam Ben's head to the table. She keeps her hands on her thighs but balls them into fists. "And for whom are you working?"

Ben scoffs and turns the corners of his mouth downward. "For someone who pays me a lot more than McIntosh, and even more than prosecution. Someone even you won't bring down."

Jane chews on the inside of her cheek and frowns deeply. "I wouldn't say that, Ben. I brought down police officers,I brought down serial killers, I brought down star athletes, I brought down prosecutors, i brought down politicians and I also brought down people who worked for the CIA. You shouldn't underestimate me."

Ben laughs and throws his head back. "And in spite of that, I'm still here."

Jane's stomach turns and she gets up from her chair. "That can change quite fast. I have connections too."

"Are you threatening me, detective?"

"Not more than you threatened my family." Jane replies and wiggles her eyebrows, shoving her hands in the pockets of her pants. But then she leans forward to him. "But you also watch your back because no one else's watching it. It's not like you're indispensable."

"Neither are you." Ben says louder after a couple of seconds.

Jane's about to leave when those words come out of his mouth and she turns to him, eyebrows raised high. "I know all to well that I'm replaceable, Ben. I know what my part in this story is. I know that I'd die for my family just to keep them safe. You better find your part before it's too late. Think about the woman you married, the woman who truly loves you." She growls angrily and steps closer to the table, ignoring the looks. "I ... I don't know what you got yourself into, but ... there's a way out of it. I -" She pauses and lowers her voice. "In the past, we got along with each other."

Ben scoffs and shakes his head. "Did we?"

Jane keeps an hard expression so she doesn't give Ben away. Somehow she can see the man that she knew before. The man before Maura had happened and the man who wanted to help the innocent, the prosecutor who wanted to bring justice. She doesn't know what happened to him over the years. "Come to my house in the morning."

Ben licks his lips and looks to the bar where his friends are standing. "You're signing my death warrant, Jane."

She sighs and straightens up before she connects her fist with his jaw, ignoring the looks and his groan. "You know my address." She whispers and slams his head on the table.

She walks out of the restaurant and thinks about how to tell Maura that they can't have a romantic dinner at that place ever again.


	20. Chapter 20

**Hey, guys. I'm sorry for the long delay. I hope you guys still stick with me.**

 **However, finally the update is here and I hope you'll like it. And as always, you're welcome to tell me what you think.**

 **Enjoy,**

 **T73.**

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Jane lies down in the bed and sighs before she's pulling her wife closer against her body. She knows perfectly well that she doesn't have to voice what's bothering her right now because she feels the hand on her forearm and how fingers are trailing down on it until they reached Jane's hand.

The Italian snuggles her face into the nape of Maura's neck and mumbled into it, "I know perfectly well how Lizzy's feeling right now."

Maura doesn't move and stares straight ahead into the darkness. She thinks that she got Jane's words right, but she always was someone who makes sure that she really got the message, and that hasn't changed until today. She doesn't turn around, but frowns. "What was that?"

Jane doesn't answer right away, she takes her time so her words won't sound harsh nor inappropriate. She takes a deep breath and furrows her eyebrows, even though Maura can't see that. "I know exactly how Liz is feeling right now. I've been though this already."

Confusion grabs Maura instantly and she turns in Jane's arms so she can face her. "What are you talking about, Jane?" She whispers and isn't sure why she keeps her voice low.

Jane scrutinizes the other woman's face and has to swallow hard when old memories start to invade her mind. Memories, she thought that she had locked away for so long. "You've been innocently arrested, too, Maura. And it was me who had to lock you up."

Maura's keeping the eye contact and she still can see the remorse in the eyes of the woman she loves so much even though so much time has gone by already. She shakes her head and trails her fingers along Jane's jaw. "You only did what you had to do in that moment, Jane. If I would have been in your shoes that moment, I wouldn't have done anything differently." She tries to smile a little and shrugs. "Besides, even I started to believe that I killed him."

"But that's because you have been drugged, Maura. You couldn't remember anything."

"But neither you nor I nor the guys could have known that back then. And still, you did everything to prove that I did not commit the crime, and that's what you'll do in Adam's case because you know that he didn't beat anyone to death." She waits for Jane to agree and frowns when she sees doubt in the Italian's face. "You don't think that he beat Cameron McIntosh to death, do you?"

Jane's clenching her jaw and she has to swallow hard. She knows that her son-in-law has some kind of temper, but she also knows that he wouldn't hurt anyone without a reason. That and they can't find a witness who'll testify that Adam came to Cameron's place and found him dead worries her. Not to mention Ben, who pretend to be on their side and obviously works for the McIntosh clan. "He's a male version of me, Maura," she whispers back and squeezes the blonde's hand. "I know that Adam never would hurt someone he loves and cares, but I also know that he would fight till death for them. What if ... What if he met with McIntosh and that son of ... That dumbass dared to threat Elizabeth and the baby?"

Maura rolls her eyes. "Jane -"

"No, Maura," Jane cuts her short and props up on her elbow. "Hear me out. Although you've been through some terrible things, you've never been in the situation in which you had nothing to lose anymore because you've thought that you lost the person you love more than your own life. When you've been pregnant with Liz and got abducted, I didn't sleep a second. And when he McGowan killed another woman and burned your car to leave the impression that he killed both of you so he can have you for himself, I was seeing red. Nothing matter to me anymore in the moment Korsak and Frost told me that you and our baby were gone. I didn't care about myself anymore, all I wanted to do was to beat the shit out of McGowan, no matter if I would kill him. I was going crazy and yelled at them that the burned body wasn't yours. Ma had to drag me away, literally. And when we found out that he held you hostage at his farm, all of them had to held me back, otherwise, I would have gone in there blindly. Even the SWAT team's leader had to talk some sense into my mind. God knows, if he wouldn't I probably would have been responsible for your actual death."

Maura blinks a couple of times and stares unashamed at the lieutenant, skidding closer. "You never told me the whole story."

"I'm sure I did." Jane huffs and frowns as the doctor shakes her head. "I didn't?"

"No," Maura replies and runs her hands through Jane's hair. "You didn't, Jane. You never told me the whole story. And neither did any of the others. Why did you hide that from me?"

Jane's clenching her jaw again and she places her hand on the doctor's hip. "Because all that mattered that time was that I got you back safe and sound, and our baby. I didn't see any meaning to bother you even more after all the two of you went through. I had to make sure that you and our incredibly beautiful and smart daughter are safe."

"Jane -" Maura starts and blinks her upcoming tears back.

"It's my job." Jane interrupts and kisses Maura gently. "It always was and always will be, because I love you both more then my own life, and that won't change anytime soon. Probably never."

Maura can't contain the broad smile on her lips but narrows her eyes. "Perhaps you love one of us a little less?"

Jane smiles back at her and closes the gap of their lips again. "Not the slightest bit," she whispers and looks deeply into hazel eyes. She's indeed surprised that she's still as crazy for Maura as she has been the first time she laid eyes on the ME. "I'll love you for the rest of my life." She smirks and kisses Maura again because she can see that the doctor's response is going to be **And that won't be long anymore if you'll keep going like that**.

Maura starts to chuckle and breaks away, licking her lips and looking straight into brown eyes. Her smile drops because she knows that her wife means every word she has said, and she wonders why she tried to deny her feelings for the Italian in the past. And she wonders why she c ame to terms with her ex-husband Ben. It's not like she didn't cared about him, but she soon realized that she never really loved him, or not at all. She did like him, but nothing more. She caresses her wife's cheek and sighs. "I love you too, Jane. From the bottom of my heart."

Jane's heart leaps and she wonders if there is a moment when she's not falling even more for the doctor. She hopes that Maura gets and frowns deeply when her wife says, "Adam didn't kill Cameron, even if he has threaten Liz or the baby. He could have never done that, as much as you wouldn't have killed McGowan. That is neither your nor his nature."

Jane blinks a couple of times and nods slowly, agreeing silently. And in the same time she knows how wrong her wife is, because back then she would stop at nothing just to bring Maura and their daughter back home safely. And that hasn't changed the slightest bit. In the same time, she knows that Adam doesn't think differently. He'd do the same for his family, his wife, his child, and she's grateful for that. That she knows that her only child is as loved as her Mom, cherished and respected. That's why she likes him.

She nods to herself. "I'll talk to him tomorrow." She says and quirks an eyebrow when Maura smiles at her. "What?"

"I knew you'd say that."

"Oh, come on!"

Maura laughs out loud and kisses her wife once more.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It's early when Liz arrives at the house of her parents and is surprised that she's finding Jane already sitting at the kitchen counter and notices that her mother is absorbed in some notes. She blinks a couple of times and puts her purse on the small table beside the couch. Normally, Jane wouldn't be already up at that time of day unless she thinks she'd have to. She licks her lips and steps quietly closer. She isn't quite sure why she came by that early but she didn't want to spend time alone in her all too quiet house, hoping that Maura would distract her. "I thought you turned almost blind with time." She says softly and raises her eyebrows when Jane jumps a little.

"Jesus," Jane grumbles and her eyes snap up. "kid. Why do you always have to sneak up on me? Are you planning to give me another heart attack?"

The younger woman smiles innocently and kisses Jane's cheek. "I didn't sneak up on you, you've been engrossed in whatever you're reading right now. And I never gave you an heart attack."

Jane rolls her eyes. "You came pretty close, though." She scrutinizes Liz for a moment and then she frowns slightly. "You didn't sleep well, did you?"

Liz sits down next to her mother and heaves a sigh, running an hand through her hair. "Nope," she simply says.

"You're not used to be alone."

"No."

"You know that TJ and Sammy will be more than glad if they can stay at your house, just like Dani. You know that you're not alone in this, don't you?"

Liz takes a moment before she's answering. Of course she knows that either of them are more than willing to support her in this time, but she also knows that this kind of housing situation is impermanent. She squints at the cup of coffee in front of Jane and licks her lips once more. She'd give everything to have just one sip right now. "Of course I know that, Ma," she replies and her eyes are finding Jane's. "But they also have their own life and can't _babysit_ me for the rest of my life. I even wouldn't want them to."

"We'll clear Adam's name, Elizabeth." Jane says softly and places an hand over Liz'. "We'll get him out of prison before you can say Jack Robinson."

The younger woman smiles a little but then she turns serious again. "Ma, can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can."

"And please be honest with me."

"Sure."

"When you got to know about Adam's arrest, did you believe that he has beaten Cameron to death?"

Jane's silent for a second and turns in her seat to have a better look at her daughter. She wiggles her brows and sighs. "For a brief second I did believe that." She holds up an hand when Liz is about to protest. "I did believe that because he and I aren't so different, we'll always protect those we love by hook or by crook. I mean, your mom is my everything and I'd stop at nothing." She pauses and takes a swig from the mug. "Before you've been born, your mother got abducted by one of her former employees who has been madly in love with her, or that's what he thought. He killed a woman and brined her in Mom's Prius to make me believe that you and her are death. He managed to convince Frankie, Korsak, Frost and my mom, but deep down I felt that this was just a red herring. After we figured out where he has been keeping her, we'll went there with a big SWAT team, and I was hoping that this person would give me just one reason and I wouldn't hesitate to put a bullet into his head, because he took your mother and you away from me. I was waiting for a single reason to kill him because he was threatening you and your mother. And when I finally faced him, I couldn't pull the trigger because deep in my heart I am no murderer like he was. Of course I had to shoot people but that was because they didn't give me another choice, but I never killed someone for revenge. I never killed someone just for fun, and I decided that I won't kill him with no reason because I knew that it wouldn't change anything and that it wouldn't make me feel any better. At the end, he has been shot and I got the both of you back, but in the same time I also know that he has been sick and that I'd rather see him behind bars, paying for what he has done to so many families." She pauses again and furrows her eyebrows. "And I know that Cameron has been threatening you and your child, and I also know what Adam has been thinking in that moment, how he has been feeling. But I know that he's a good guy and that he wouldn't harm anyone even though he'd have any reason for doing so. But I know that he wouldn't be able to kill someone with his bare fists, even though Cameron would have attacked him first. Adam may would have knocked him out, but not more. I am sure about that because I'd do the same if I'd have been in his shoes." She takes a deep breath and tilts her head a little. "And that's why all of us are working hard to get Adam out of prison and to get the right person behind bars. Liz, I promise you, you'll get back your husband in one piece and before you give birth to my very first grandchild."

Liz can't help the broad smile. "It's the first time you're calling Adam my husband and my baby your grandchild."

Jane blinks a couple of times and then she makes a face. "It is indeed."

"No, you can't take it back." Liz laughs as she sees her mother's face. She sighs and looks long at her mother. "Thank you, Ma." She smiles again as Jane nods and thrusts her chin at the notes. "What are you looking at?"

Jane's looking down at the papers and pursed her lips briefly before she takes her phone in her hands. "I'm looking at the statements of Cameron's neighbors. I write Frankie that I'd like to have a little chat with them at the station."

"Why?"

"Because I found a couple of crudities. All of them said that either they hadn't been home or still had been asleep. If that would be true, how could they have seen Adam loitering in front of Cameron's house? I'd like to see how their story goes when their not in their comfort zone."

Relief is washing over Liz'face and she's holding her breath. When she hears footsteps coming from the stairs and turns her head only to see Maura approaching them. She smiles a little and then frowns.

Maura slows her steps and raises her eyebrows as soon as she sees the tired face of her daughter. "You look tired."

The younger brunette rolls her eyes. "Good morning to you, too." She lowers her chin when Maura looks admonishingly at her. "I barely slept last night."

"Elizabeth -"

"I know, I know. It's unhealthy, but my tossing and turning didn't allow me to fall asleep."

Maura nods slowly and walks to the fridge. "Are you hungry?"

Jane smirks and takes a sip of her cold coffee.

Liz furrows her brows and points down at herself. "Currently, I am hungry non-stop, Mom."

"Okay," Maura chuckles and opens the fridge door, and Liz finally laughs for real.

Jane snickers and shakes her head.


	21. Note!

**Hey folks,**

 **I am going to shut this storyline down but come up with a new one because I can't continue those one. I continue this story with a new plot and this time I'm gonna to finish it. Perhaps I'll call it 'conspiracy to murder' or just 'Conspiracy' I'm already working on it hardly. I hope I'll see you then**

 **T73**


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